There's no such thing as Utopia, even in FF8!
by Scent of the Tulip
Summary: When a girl from Earth gets duped into signing a contract and gets transported to the FF8 world, she finds it isn't as easy as she'd imagined. A little bit of Seiftis thrown in.
1. Default Chapter

Chapter 1 – When Hyne is up to mischief.

    Before I begin…

    This is my first fanfic, so there would definitely be loads of areas that need improvement. Please tell me when you come across any mistakes, sticky plot points, discrepancies, grammar mistakes. Don't be gentle, I can take criticism (criticism, not flames). Of course, it wouldn't hurt to tell me you like reading it as well. I'm a sucker for reviews. :)

    This is a story based on my favorite FF8 character and a self-created character. You can call it a self-insertion fic, a Mary-Sue, etc etc. I know this is like barging into compounds with the "Trespassers will be prosecuted" signs displayed prominently outside, but sometimes when the urge comes, it's hard not to write. I would sooner go insane if I left it hanging around my brain, so here I am.

    However, I will attempt to refrain it from becoming too annoying, attempt being the operative word.

    So while I prepare to take the plunge, please take note of the below disclaimer.

    Disclaimer: FFVII and Squall Leonhart, Seifer Almasy, Quistis Trepe, Zell Dintch, Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt, Rinoa Heartily et cetera characters belong to Squaresoft Inc., and not me. They are mentioned in the fic for entertainment purposes only, and not for financial and other tangible gains.

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                                                     _If time could stand still…_

_                                                    I would want it to freeze_

_                                                At the moment I'd met you..._    

                                       *     *     *     *     *     *      *     *     *     *

   Ramius Wolfgang treaded on the soft, bouncy steps. Steps of a translucent, yet by no means weak material that were part of a long flight that led up to where the clouds had stopped floating, and far beyond.

    Grunting almost inaudibly as his feet sank a little with each step, he looked up at the still relatively far distance he had to cover, and let out a little sigh.

    There was nothing he dreaded more than being summoned by the Almighty Highness for a task, especially if it was _this_ time of the year… when she had lesser matters on her hands and would thus be prone to more mischief than usual.

    He knew quite well why she had summoned him; there was only one plausible reason, really.

    He finally reached the top of the stairs, and gazed in wonderment at the majestic structure in front of him. No matter the number of times he had seen the Gates of Hyne, it would take his breath away every time he set his eyes upon it.

    _You may now enter, Ramius, my good servant._

    The Gates opened silently as if on cue, allowing him entry into the vast land where the "Ruler of All" resided.

    Where all decisions of their world, major or minor, were made and carried out.

    "Come here, Ramius."

    As the mist cleared, he could see the authoritative, yet ethereal figure of the Ruler beckoning him.

     "Zion, Roma, you may retreat." She dismissed her left and right-hand men, who nodded and drifted away.

    Ramius bowed respectfully before her, and spoke in a similar tone.

     "Your Almighty Highness, you asked for me?"

     "Yes. Tell them, that I have a deal to strike with them."

     "A deal, your Highness?"

     "Yes, a deal. Zion shall discuss the details with you. Remember, Ramius. Failure is not an option. Hahahhahaha!" She let off a peal of raucous laughter that was unbefitting of her status, and graceful image.

     "Yes, your Highness."

                                       *     *     *     *     *     *      *     *     *     *

    He heard three soft knocks on his solid office door.

     "Come in." He barked, a little annoyed by the disruption of his work.

    The door opened soundlessly, and his personal assistant, Sally, stepped into his office, closing the door again behind her.

     "Commander Leonhart, an unidentified individual wishes to see you. He did not make an appointment beforehand." 

     "Turn him away." Squall said irritably, and looked down at his work, signaling to his assistant that the conversation had ended.

     "Now, my dear Commander, a little talk wouldn't hurt anyone, would it?"

    A tall, thin figure appeared behind Sally, and walked up to stand before Squall's desk.

    Squall and Sally stared in surprise at the uninvited "visitor", then at the door. Neither of them had heard or seen it open, which meant…

    He had somehow materialized into the room out of thin air!

     "As you can see, I am no ordinary mortal. I am above you. I only asked to see you because I am a polite one by nature…"

     "Whatever. Unauthorized Trespassers will be prosecuted!"

    Squall reached for his Lionheart, catching the cold glint of the blade in his eyes.

     "Do you honestly think that you can hurt me with _that?_" The other one smirked, noticing from the corner of his eye that Sally had sneaked out of the office, presumably to call for help.

     "You wanna try?" Squall gritted his teeth, provoked by the insolent tone of the man's voice.    

     "Hold on, young man. I came here to talk, not fight." The man held out his hands seemingly in surrender, and lightly snapped his fingers.

    Squall found his throat constricted, and no sound would come out of it even when he tried to shout.

     "Now listen, and listen good." The man said sternly. "Hyne has decided to strike a deal with you.

      You are to accept _another_ mortal girl from Earth into your Garden, give her food, lodging, an academic place, a stab at SeeDship, you know the drill." He paused, looking in amusement at Squall's vigorously shaking head and horrified stare.

     "HOWEVER. You will not be obliged to like her, or accept her into your clichés, or give her preferential treatment as you had to with the previous ones.

       And this time, she does not have excessive powers compared to the next person. She will attain her skills through hard work alone.

       In exchange for her acceptance here, Hyne shall grant you one billion gil, with ten percent as deposit if you should accept the offer."

    Squall gawked at him.

    _One billion gil?!!_

    His incredulity was justified, for it was much, much more than the one million gil they usually received for such cases.

     "Too good to pass up, isn't it?" With a snap of his fingers, the man had let go of his hold over Squall's vocal chords.

     "Let me consider." Squall said, still unconvinced that he wanted to subject himself and Balamb Garden to the potential hazards that might result from accepting another Earthling in their midst.

     "There's no time. If you don't agree right here, right now, I'll have to ask the other Gardens."

    Squall gave a little jolt at his words, for the idea of _one billion gil_ falling into other's hands was just too much for him.

     "Deal!" He declared, determined to find some way to counter said "potential hazards".

     "Very good, Mr. Leonhart! Now if you'll just sign here, here, here and here……"

                                       *     *     *     *     *     *      *     *     *     *

     _["I love you." Quistis said. "I love you at first sight."_

_     "Me too, sweetie-pie!" Seifer clasped her hand, staring endearingly at her face. "I only insulted you cos I loved you."—]_

    She paused, and re-read her work.

    _That will never work. The readers won't buy it… heck even I don't buy it!_

_    No doubt over that._

     "What? Who's there?" Her head spun around upon hearing the foreign voice whispered into her ear, but of course there was no one there, for she did not recall letting anyone into her room when she closed the door. Shaking her head, she resumed her typing on her keyboard.

     _[Quistis told Seifer,_

_      "If I could turn back time, I'd love you more."_

_     "If I could turn back time, I'd bend down on my knee and proclaim you my Queen!"]_

     "Argh!! Too clichéd! And still too OOC!!!" She grabbed her hair in exasperation as the notoriously-feared "Writer's Block" attacked her mind for the umpteenth time.

    _What you need, is a full, realistic grasp on what they're really like._

_    What would you say if you had a chance to experience what it feels like to be in the FF8 world?_

_    What would you say if you could **talk face to face with them?**_

_    And what would you say if you were sent into a world where the subject of your fantasies is REAL, and not some fictional character?_

_    I am here to offer you that._

     "Who the hell are you? Show yourself now!" She growled at the air in general, for she did not know where this person was.

     "Tsk Tsk! Such words to come out of a young lady's mouth. How unbecoming!"

     "You show yourself now, or I'll—"

     "Or you'll what? You can't even see me… what can you possibly do to me?"

    On hearing his taunts, her temper rose, and she threw a mug violently at the direction of the voice.

    "Thunk!" The mug had managed to hit him resoundingly on the head.

    Fuming, but secretly appreciative of her throwing skill, he materialized in his visual form.

     "Not bad. I haven't been physically hit by a mortal for one hundred years."

     "Enough! Who the hell are you?" She did not appear surprised by his sudden appearance in her room.

    _I must be dreaming. I probably fell asleep at the keyboard._

     "I am your muse." He said, smiling simply.

     "Uh-huh. You expect me to believe that."

     "Yes, I do."

     "You're bluffing. My Muse, if I had any, should be some beautiful, sweet and gentle woman with a golden touch and the face of an Angel. Not some… slob like you!"

    Indeed, he looked as if he had been a derelict plucked out from the streets at night, with his fuzz-covered chin, bloodshot eyes and unkempt hair.

     "What makes you think in that way?" He asked in great amusement.

     "Because I only write romance stories." She eyed him in distaste. "And for the life of me, I don't see how you can be linked to the word 'romance'!"

    The self-proclaimed muse gave a cold snort and a mocking laugh.

     "The muse's appearance is molded by the state of his or her charge's thoughts. What you see here, is a mirror image of your mind state." He walked past her to where her mirror was positioned, and examined his reflection in it.

      "That is to say… if you possess an inner beauty that rivals that of the faeries, then you will have a muse that is, as you put it, 'a sweet, gentle woman with a golden touch and the face of an Angel'. On the other hand, you my dear girl, are as ugly internally as you are externally, hence this." He gestured at himself.

     "You're too much! Insulting someone whom you've met for the first time! Whatever it is you're offering, I won't have any of it!"

     "You're sure?"

     "Hundred Percent!"

     "A chance to see and _touch_ your favorite character, and you decline?" He had deliberately emphasized on the touch part, obviously trying to seduce her into an agreement.

     "How do I even know you're not taking me along for a ride?" She glanced suspiciously at him.

     "You don't. But if you reject, you will always be wondering about the _what__ if."_

     "The _what if_?"

     "What if I accepted his offer?

      What if he was for real?

      What if he offered it to someone else?

       There're too many to list."

    _This is only a dream anyway. No actual harm done, even if he **does turn out to be a cheat!**_

     "Alright… what do I have to do?"

     "Attagirl. I like your decisiveness."

    He produced a parchment scroll from his sleeve.

     "Just sign here, here, here and here. Oh, no need to look for fine print. It isn't important."

    She signed the scroll without examining it carefully, still under the illusion that she was dreaming.

     "Hahahahaha!" The muse's laugh sent shivers down her spine.

     "NOW you have to do everything I say! You are our SLAVE until the contract expires!"

     "SLAVE? What the hell are you talking about?" She stared at him, half in fear and half in annoyance, while attempting to identify the strange sense of doom that was rising up in her chest.

     "You should always read the fine print before signing anything! Tsk Tsk!" He shook a finger at her, while his features rearranged themselves in a loathsome gloat.

     "Yeah, right. All I have to do is wake up, and you can't do anything to me!" She snorted in contempt.

     "Let's see you 'Wake up' then." He crossed his arms with a smirk, obviously waiting to watch a show.

    She closed her eyes, then reopened them.

    _Wakeupwakeupnow__!___

    He was still there, his smirk a little wider now.

    She pinched herself, hard.

     "Oww!" She rubbed at the spot where a blue-black bruise had started to form.

    _If it hurts… then I'm not dreaming. If I'm not dreaming…_

    Her eyes traveled to the muse.

    _He's__ for real!_

    And everything went black for her.

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   Hahahha how was that? Not too bad, I hope! Well, whatever you think of it, please write it down by clicking on that little button down there. Won't take you too much time, and it sure would make my day! What do you say?

    Ah… by the way… the first person who can guess who this girl's favorite charrie is in FF8 gets to name her. So make sure when you make the guess, you name the main charrie as well.

    Ramius: As if _that's a big prize or something…. *rolls eyes*. _

    You want a hint? It's not Squall hahahahaha.

    But you have to be fast. If I post before you guess correctly, offer's off. Okay, I'll stop bothering you now and let your eyes have a rest!


	2. Chapter 2 Don't try this at home!

**Chapter 2 – Don't try this at home!**

    Wow… I received _three reviews!_

    While it may seem like I'm making a mountain out of a molehill, especially if you're a multiple review-hit fanfic writer, please let me explain. I had somewhat expected this to be a zero review fic, seeing what kind of subject it deals with. Most people hate this kind of stories, so I had some inkling that I'd be writing for myself to read only. So I'm doubly grateful to you guys!

    Anonymous reviewer: Ummm… you were pretty close, but too bad! Even if I do like Seifer and Quistis, I like them together, as in Seiftis. And you'd have to kill me before I separate them in my fics. No way, hose! But thanks for making a guess anyway! Leigh was a very pretty name!

   MazLeonhart: I hope you won't be mad at me for leaving out the X's. As someone who didn't like Mary-Sues, you were much more encouraging in your review than anyone could have hoped. I won't be so thick-skinned as to think that it's because of my fic, so I assume it's because you're a very kind person. Thankies! You are now entitled to an unlimited supply to tulip petal confetti! 

*Ding Ding! Commercial time: Tulip petal confetti is great for wedding showers, dinner parties, and for aromatherapy. Buy a package now for infinite fun!* Oops… forgive my rambling.

Legendary Super Candyce: Well, well, well! You were right in your guess! IT IS INDEED ZELL! This just goes to show that it isn't that no one likes him, they're just hiding in the shadows, waiting to pounce on you! Okay, I shall take up on your suggestion to call the main protagonist Kyra. As for the surname… *sigh* that I'll have to come up through my own means.

On a side note: If like me you're a curious one who are the kind to try out anything that seems the slightest bit plausible, the following method of inter-galactic transfer/travel is completely fictional. I will not be responsible for anything that happens if you decide to try doing it. Heck, I feel like trying it out myself, but not until I finish this fic in case I really disappear, you know.

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    If love was a river, then let me drown.

    If love was a razor, then let me bleed.

    And if love was a flower, then you are my only Seed.

    ~ Some sentimental dude

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    She opened her eyes, and let out a groan when a throbbing of demonic proportions tore her brains apart.

     "Awake at last?" The muse's face loomed large in her view.

    _Oh God. Tell me this isn't true._

     "Now let me introduce myself properly.

      My name is Ramius Wolfgang, a messenger who flits between Cotta (that's your FF8 world) and Earth, but technically, I'm really a follower of Hyne's. Once in a while, when Hyne feels particularly bored, she would send one of us messengers down to collect his charge and export them to our world for a period (with the consent of your world's Powers-that-be, of course), the length of which depends on the girl herself."

     "Charge?" Kyra asked in a confused manner.

     "That's right. I am indeed your muse, wasn't lying there. And this is my true form."

    His features began to change, morphing from the previous slack-jawed, droopy-eyed dude to a fine-featured man. He had short, golden hair that rivaled the dazzling brilliance of the sun's rays and piercing eyes that matched his hair.

    He wore a cream-colored toga with a three-quarter sleeve on the left, while the exposed shoulder on the right revealed bronzed skin that gave off a healthy, and to some, sexy glow. The hem of his robe stopped short of his knee, his whole getup resembling that of the Ancients Greeks of yore.

     "So, in essence, your character isn't as ugly as I had led you to believe! Hahaha! Gullible little girl!"

     "But you're still a man! Are you implying that I think like a man too?" She exclaimed.

    He only shrugged his shoulders, while his lips maintained the smirk he had previously affected.

     "And I am _not a little girl! I'm already eighteen! A working member of society!"_

     "Say what you like. Follow me, my time is running short."

     "And what if I refuse?" She cocked her head at him, openly challenging him with her defiant tone and stance.

     "_This_ will happen." He snapped his fingers crisply.

     "AHHHHHH!!!" She screamed when a tight band spanning the top of her head squeezed her skull mercilessly, as if it had been placed in a nutcracker and had the shell cracked.

    He slid a small ring onto the third finger of her left hand.

    The pain subsided immediately, to her immense relief.

     "ARE YOU TRYING TO MURDER ME?" She screeched at him, but stopped short when she spotted the ring on her finger. 

    She peered at the ring curiously. "And what is this for?"

     "Never take it off under any circumstances." He warned her.

     "Why?" She pulled it off her finger deliberately, hoping to provoke him, but only succeeded in inviting the pain back to her mind. 

     "Make it stop…" She pleaded at him softly, for she had dropped the ring in the midst of her "excitement" in encountering the unwelcome sensation again.

     "Young people… they always have to learn things the hard way." He sighed, picking up the ring and sliding it back onto her finger.

     "Now where's your mobile phone?" He tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for her to present her most prized worldly possession next to the PS2 to him.

    She had ceased trying to understand his actions, for he seemed rather fond of erratic behavior.

    She handed the mobile over to him obediently, bidding it a last farewell as she surrendered it to his hands.

     "No, YOU have to do it.

       First, compose a message with the words 'FF8Cotta transition.FFtransX Ramius CodeXVF8F3C'." He commanded sternly.

     "Uhh…" She struggled to key in the long string of characters he had recited without pausing even for breath.

     "Send it via email to Hyne.FF8@fithoslusecwecosvinosec.com.hy."

     "Done."

    _It's a good thing I'm a masterful message composer. How does he expect anyone to keep up with that?_ She grumbled to herself as she pressed the "Send" button.

     "Next, press the *, #, 7 and 9 buttons simultaneously."

    She did as he instructed.

    As soon as she pressed down the "9" button, a mild electric-shock-like buzz traveled the span of her body, which made her more than a little uneasy.

     "Oh, before I forget, you might experience some major discomfort while transiting from here to there."

     "What kind…" Before she could finish speaking, a blinding light exploded from the screen of her mobile, enveloping her body.

    A huge vacuum appeared midair and sucked her in, barreling her towards a transparent tube that looked remarkably like one of  the passageways in the Lunatic Pandora in the video game.

    Cosmic expanses of the black sky sprinkled with tiny, glittering constellations whizzed by her in a blur, making it impossible for her to enjoy an otherwise enchanting sight.

    An invisible vibrating force took hold of her and shook her violently, producing numerous sensations in her body, none of which was pleasant.

   One particular sensation was overcoming her in waves. A sour taste rose up to her throat, threatening to spill out of her mouth.

    _God, I'm gonna be sick…_

    Just when she thought her brains were spilling out of her mouth due to the incessant vibrating she was subjected to, she saw a hole in the middle of the blackness that dominated the place, its proximity getting closer and closer to her.

    She was dumped into the hole unceremoniously, plunging almost immediately as gravity did its job and pulled her speedily towards the ground.

    _I am so dead._

                                                          *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

    _Hyne damn-it!_ Zell cursed vehemently. _How could I have forgotten to junction before going into the woods?_

    He wiped a trail of blood that had trickled down the left side of his mouth, and gritted his teeth.

    _Well, let's show it that Zell Dintch is a force to be reckoned even without his junctions!_

    Giving a loud yell, he dashed towards the T-Rexaur, the cause of the multiple injuries he had sustained. As the distance between them closed, he pummeled brutally at the beast's scaly, thick hide with as much strength as he could exert.

    Ugly, purplish bruises appeared on the monster's hide, some even swelling into welts as the hard adamantine on his Ehrgeiz Gloves did substantial damage to its skin and muscles.

    The T-Rex yowled in pain, and pivoted around, swinging its massive tail against the SeeD with merciless force, as a baseball batter would against a homerun-worthy ball.

    Zell was flung to the far end of the clearing, his body colliding with one of the tree-trunks thus effectively ending his flight.

    His vision clouded and hazy, he saw the humongous face of the T-Rex looming before him. Its bloodthirsty mouth and jagged fangs exhaled fetid breath directly upon his face and seemed to grin at him evilly. His scope of vision started disappearing with alarming speed, darkening around the edges and closing in on the meager spot where he could still see the T-Rex's gloating expression.

_…must… get up…_

                                                          *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

    _I'mdeadI'mdeadI'mdead__ She thought feverishly, closing her eyes and praying fervently to any deity or God who would listen to save her from certain death._

    She dared not open her eyes for fear of a heart attack if she should witness the harrowing sight of the ground rushing up to meet her. She could not even open her mouth to scream, afraid that her heart would jump out of it in her seemingly never-ending freefall.

    Her downward flight slowed down considerably when she brushed past what felt like tree branches, clawing at her skin and leaving little nicks here and there, and came to an abrupt half when she collided with an unidentified object.

    It was hard. It felt slimy and scaly. But it had cushioned her fall. And it let out an ear-shattering roar, as if protesting her contact with it.

    She screamed when the falling sensation came over her again, even though she was still lying on top of the "object", for it seemed to be moving rapidly in a downward direction as well.

    When everything was still, even the air, she opened her eyes tentatively.

    The sight of the sky and clusters of leaves branching out above her met her eyes.

    _Where am I?_

_      And what's this I'm lying on? It chafes against my skin!_

    She turned her head to see what she had landed on.

    She saw the most gigantic beast she had ever seen, including those showcased on documentaries in the Discovery Channel.

    _… This looks like one of those Dino's in FF8!_

_    It **is one of them. Or otherwise known as a T-Rexaur. **_Ramius' voice echoed in her mind.

     "Where the hell are you? How can you simply dump me in like this? I could have died!"

    _I forgot to tell you. I am not supposed to appear before any mortal except you… especially in this world._

     "What else did you _forget to tell me, I wonder!" Kyra threw up her hands in exasperation._

    Just then, she spotted a prone figure out of the corner of her left eye.

     "Wha–?" She went forward to examine him, rolling him so that he was facing her.

    She gasped when she recognized who it was, bringing her hand to her mouth, unable to believe her eyes.

    _Hey, girl!_ Ramius called out in panic.

    She did not answer, or rather, she could not answer.

    The shock of coming face to face with what was nothing more than a fictional character an hour ago had proven to be more than what the mechanical bearings in her brain could process.

    _Wake up! I won't be held responsible if you get eaten up by a T-Rex, or roughed up by a Caterchipillar!_

    She remained motionless, her face calm and relaxed as if in a deep, peaceful sleep.

    He looked at her, then at Zell.

    _What am I going to do now? Dear Sweet Hyne, are you sending this problem down to test me?_

    As if answering his question, a rustling of the bushes distracted his attention.

    A giant Caterchipillar ambled its way into the clearing, brushing past bushes and tree trunks as it headed towards them, lured by the peculiar smell of the humans mingling with the bloody scent of the crushed, and very dead T-Rex.

     "RAAAAR!!!" It grinned menacingly, looking at the 'feast' laid before its eyes.

    _OMIHYNE… Do I break the rule by fighting it, or risk losing my charge AND one of Hyne's favorite mortal SeeDs to a mere Caterchipillar!_

    A groan from one of the still bodies dispelled his troubles away.

     "FIRAGA!" The boy jumped up a split second later and pushed his hands out in front of him, casting the powerful spell upon the monster.

    With a hideous screech, the Caterchipillar was reduced to nothing but burnt fertilizer for the forest grounds as it incinerated in a burst of furious flames.

     "That was close." The boy said, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ground and wiped at his mouth with his shirt sleeve.

    He stared at the fallen T-Rex in confusion, puzzled that it was already taken out while he was unconscious.

     "What in hell?" He scratched his head, kicking at its carcass to ascertain its non-living status, still blissfully unaware of the stranger lying next to it.

    He walked around it, and took at step back, only to tread on something quite unlike the texture of the forest ground.

     "Huh?"

    It was rather soft, for one thing.

    _Please… not T-Rex poo! Those take ages to_–

_      WHAT IN HYNE IS THAT?_

    He could barely keep his eyeballs intact as he gawked at the pale hand he was stepping on, peeking out from a sleeve that was linked to a female body and a face he could not recognize.

    He jumped off the girl's hand, and crouched down, shaking her gently at first, then increasing the roughness of the shakes when she failed to respond.

     "Hey! Wake up! You can't sleep here!"

    A dreadful thought crossed his mind.

    Quickly, he pressed three fingers around her neck, feeling for a pulse.

    _Faint… but still there._

_      But I can't just leave her here! She'll be attacked in no time!_

    Hooking her left arm around his neck, Zell hoisted the motionless girl off the ground, gritting his teeth to muster the remainder of his non-too-ready strength. Nearly stumbling in his attempt to carry her, the increased weight of her body added tremendous pressure to his already wobbly legs.

     "My Hyne! How many Wendingoes does this chick weigh?" He groaned in unison with his protesting knees.

    _If I was at my full strength!_

He cursed himself again for his negligence in failing to junctioning his GF before venturing into the woods.

    _Hyne, I could really use some help now._

    Something rustled among the bushes.

    _Not another monster!_

_     I'm too beat to fight now!_

    A brown head poked out through the foliage, to his immense relief.

     "There you are, Zell! We've been looking all over for you!" It was none other than her High-Pitch-ness, or commonly known as Selphie. "Why did you wander off?"

    Zell had never been so happy to see her.

     "Sefie. Thank goodness. Help me with this girl! I can't carry her all by myself!"

     "YOU? Need my help carrying a girl? Either she's really heavy or you're turning soft in the muscles!"

     "Yeah, yeah…" Zell muttered, unable to refute Selphie's criticism.

     "I'll ask Irvy to help you." She raised her voice to call out for the pony-tailed one. "IRVY! OVER HERE!"

     "At your service, Ma'am!" Irvine's cowboy hat-clad head poked its way to where they were.

     "Help Zell carry the girl back." She paused, and turned to face Zell. "Who's she anyway?"

     "No friggin' idea. Long story. I'll tell you when we get back."

                                                              *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

     "And so when I woke up, T-Rex was dead, and the girl was just there!" Zell tried to explain, but he was having a hard time convincing his friends that he was of the right mind.

     "But people just do not appear from out of nowhere!" Quistis insisted, for she found Zell's story to be highly implausible.

     "Uh-uh… Quisty. Did you forget about Mary two years ago, and Sue a year after Mary?"

     "What are you saying, Irvine? That she's ONE OF THEM?" Quistis asked in disbelief.

    They looked at him in varying degrees of horrified shock.

      "Just a wild guess… she looks different from us. Quite different. Somehow she mysteriously appears, and coincidentally is found by our orphanage gang. Didn't something click?"

     "NO! I thought Sue was the last one! How could Squall do this to us?" Selphie clutched at her hair, evidently reliving undesirable memories of a certain Sue.

     "Calm down, all of you.," Said Commander's voice interrupted her rants.  
     "Squall! You had better have a good explanation for this! Did we not impress upon you hard enough that we will tolerate no Mary's and Sue's and the like coming to our Garden?" Quistis stalked up to him, her face contorted with loathing.

     "One billion Gil." He stated simply.

     "What?" Quistis frowned at him in puzzlement, unable to grasp what he was trying to say.

     "We take her in, they give us one billion Gil." He replied stoically. "Bear with it."

    _ONE BILLION GIL_? They stared goggle-eyed at him.

     "But what about Rinny? She couldn't sta—" Selphie's eyes widened even further. "Don't tell me—"

    Squall nodded. "Headmaster Cid has agreed to let us go on a month-long mission after I had highlighted the situation to him. "He has consented to let me handle it in whichever way I want."

     "WHAT? You accepted her case and run off to some mission yourself?" Zell glared at Squall. "Of all the sneaky things to do!"

     "And what makes you so sure she'd be back in a month?" Quistis asked in a similarly disgruntled manner.

     "Whatever. Her favorite's not me anyway." Squall flashed them an uncharacteristic grin that had them gawking at him with a new light.

     "But who…"

     "You'll find out soon enough."

     "But what are we supposed to do with her?" Selphie cried after him.

     "Treat her like a normal cadet. For once, we're not obligated to act  like we like her."

     "_That's_ a relief…" Quistis' voice was positively tinged with sarcasm, highly unpleased with Squall."

    Squall seemed oblivious to the resentful glares directed his way,

     "Have fun." He waved, and moved hastily towards the exit, anxious to wash his hands off the newcomer, if only for a month.

    The remaining four exchanged glances.

     "So now we enroll her for SeeD Cadet, correct?"

     "Wait, Irvine." Quistis interrupted, having something else in mind for the newbie. "… since Squall's not around, we can make life difficult for her."

     "Why?"

      "Because, my dear girl..." Quistis said testily. "If she doesn't like it here, she'll want to return to her world at the soonest possible time!" She grinned cheekily as she waited for them to get the gist of her plan.

     "Quisty! That's a brilliant idea!" Selphie squealed in delight. "And we won't need to suffer from Rinny's tantrums if she finds out there's another one!"

     "Okay… but how do we make life difficult for her?" Irvine asked cautiously, a little alarmed at the invisible devil horns protruding from the girls' heads.

    "Easy. Once we know who her favorite is, we get him to ignore her.

      Secondly, we make it hard for her to enroll into the academy." Quistis' eyes gleamed with a playful light... a kind of light that she had not possessed for a long time, since she was only a kid.

     "Sounds Bitchin'!" Selphie jumped up and gave her friend a tight squeeze.

    Zell and Irvine could only look at each other mutely, shaking their heads half in fear, and half in amusement at the drastic transformation of the two girls before them.

    _Never tread on a woman's tail, or all hell shall break loose……_

                                                              *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *

    Argh… I know this chapter is way too long. It's so long, it's ridiculous!

    Oh, lemme just inform you, in case you were expecting anything… there will be no chance of a "Yay! Mortal girl goes to FF8 world and becomes a couple with her favorite charrie" anytime soon.  Uh-uh, there will be obstacles galore for our dear Kyra, even when she's trying to become a SeeD Cadet. Which is why she hasn't even been settled into the Garden although it's already Chapter 2. I like to take things slowly, cos I'm long-winded. If you don't like my style… I'm sorry, but _it is_ my style.

    Have a nice weekend.

    Cheers,

    Tulip


	3. Chapter 3 Tests, Tests, and yet more Te...

**                                              Chapter 3 – Tests, tests, and  yet more tests!!**

**    Author's notes:** I would just like to clarify something for your reading pleasure.

    Italicized Words between   brackets refer to that particular character's thoughts.

    For example: _I'm a dumbass. Kyra thought to herself._

    Normal Italicized Words refers to Ramius' dialogue in Kyra's mind.

    For example: _For once, you are very right. You are a dumbass. Ramius replied, rubbing salt into her wounds._

_****************************_

_Even if the sky comes crashing down_

_Even if I lose my sight, my hearing_

_I wouldn't care…_

_Cos your love makes everything_

_So fair. _

*********************************

-Another sentimental dude

                                                   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

"Ugh…" The girl groaned, opened her eyes, and promptly gawked at the four people who were staring back at her.

"You're awake at last!" One of the girls said in a high-pitched voice, smiling warmly at her. "You were out for almost three hours!"

     "What's your name?" The other girl asked without moving an eyebrow, her face a mask of coldness.

     "Pippi Longstocking." She muttered, her mind still shrouded in a fog of confusion.

     "Do I look gullible to you? I've seen the Galbadian President's daughter, so don't even _think about using that on me!"_

    _Huh? Galbadian President's daughter? What's she talking about? _

     "Go on! Tell us your name!" Quistis pressed on with a hint of impatience.

     "Dana Scully." Somehow, she just could not utter her own name, her tongue behaving as if it had a will of its own.

     "That's his wife's maiden name! Now listen, young lady. I have no patience for jokes. Tell me your real name now or else…" She left the threat dangling, which made Quistis even more intimidating.

      "My name is… Kyra Lee." She mumbled, very much in fear of the Resident Ice Queen Instructor of Balamb. "Where am I?"

     "You're in Balamb Garden."

     "Huh?" She glanced curiously at the perky green-eyed girl who looked remarkably like Selphie Tilmitt. 

    Her mind throbbed as if a mass of larvae had taken numerous bites of her brain matter.

     "In Zell Dintch's dorm, no less." The one who had an uncanny resemblance to Zell said, pointing proudly to himself.

     "You've got to be kidding me!" Kyra exclaimed, and tried to get up with little success.

     "Don't move! I think you might have suffered from concussion and shock!" Quistis pressed her back down to the couch.

    She may have suggested making life hard for the alternative world girl, but it was against her newly re-acquired Instructor ethics to let the ill and injured roam about before they were fully healed.

     "Maybe we should let Dr. Kadowaki examine her head." Irvine suggested.

     "How are you going to explain to the doctor who she is then? You know very well according to Garden procedure, every new entrant must undergo a medical examination. She's bound to spot something amiss." Quistis paused a little, letting what she had just said sink in. "Besides, all hell would break lose if everyone knew another Mary/Sue was amidst us!"

      "Shut up! All of you!" Kyra shouted "Is this some kind of cosplay convention? Well, I'm not the least bit interested!" She flung her arms outwards in exasperation.

    She regretted her outburst immediately.

    The pain control ring flew off her finger, rolled about the carpeted floor with a soft thud, and disappeared from sight, hiding in some dusty, obscure corner of the room.

     "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!" She let out a lusty scream, threatening to shatter the eardrums of those within a one-mile radius 

"What's wrong?" Selphie crouched down immediately, alarmed by her sudden scream.

     "… M…my ring… my ring!" Kyra managed to say amidst the haze of pain.

     "The one you dropped just now?" Zell asked, and she nodded faintly in response.

    For the next few minutes, everyone except Kyra was looking for the ring, while her screaming later died down when she gradually realized how hysterical she sounded.

     "Is this it?" Quistis held up the elaborately engraved ring for Kyra to see.

    She nodded quickly, muttering her thanks and slipped it on without hesitation.

    The pain disappeared just as soon as it came.

    _If that was painful… that means I'm not dreaming…_

    She looked back at the row of expectant faces in front of her.

     _Oh my God._

     "So you were saying this is Balamb Garden?" She turned to Selphie and asked.

     "Yep. The one and only."

     "Selphie. Irvine. Quistis… and Zell." As she addressed them, they nodded in acknowledgement.

    _Oh my f**king God…_

    She could feel her head swim as it finally hit upon her that there was no turning back – that she was indeed in the FF8 world, and face to face with what had previously been nothing more than video game characters to her.

     "Alright, first things first. You can't just stay here, Kyra. The only persons allowed to remain in Balamb Garden, or any other Garden for the matter, are its SeeDs and Cadets." Quistis said in a stern manner.

     "… I guess I'll enroll as a Cadet first, then." Kyra said, her brain working furiously to coerce her newfound knowledge and surroundings into acceptance.

     "Not so fast. Not everyone can enroll as a Garden Cadet too. You have to pass certain tests first."

     "What kind of tests?" Kyra silently noted the hint of steel in Quistis' voice, but was unable to pinpoint the reason for it.

    _Why wasn't I told there were tests, Ramius?_

     "Aptitude tests. Physical Tests. To see if you're up to it. And to determine the level which you start in."

     "I guess I really have no choice but to take them." Kyra replied in resignation.

    She hated tests. Any kind of tests, especially physical ones.

_   Because you barely pass those?_ Ramius' mocking tone filled her mind.

    _Hell no! I just think they're a waste of time!_

_      Besides, I'd hardly call a silver award barely passing!_

_    As I said, barely passing… you should aim for the gold._

_    When I'm through with you, you'll be deader than the sashimi I ate for lunch yesterday!_

     "So, when do I take these tests then?" She asked Quistis.

     "How does your head feel?" Quistis placed a hand against Kyra's forehead, testing for a fever.

     "Fine…"

     "Then you will take the tests now."

     "Now? But I've only just arrived!"

     "Miss Lee. For your information, we are all very busy people, with classes to lecture and missions to prepare for.

       And do remember that even if you manage to pass your tests, you will still be a Cadet. And a Cadet must always follow the orders given by an Instructor. Am I understood?"

    _Instructor? But I thought she was—_

     "_Am I understood?" Quistis raised her voice a notch, a little angered by the lack of response from Kyra._

     "Y…yes Ma'am…"

     "Good. Follow me."

                                                   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

    Quistis handed her a sheet of paper with a list of neatly typed questions on it.

     "You have thirty minutes. Starting from… now."

    Kyra stared at the sheet, the engines of her brain already formulating answers as she ran through the questions.

**                                       [SEED CADET ENROLMENT TEST]**

**                                                      QUESTION PAPER**

**    Q1.** What is the name of the Sorceress who ruled Esthar during the First Sorceress War? [1 mark]

**    Q2. **Who is Sorceress Ultimecia, and what is her relationship with Edea Kramer, the Sorceress in Q1, and Rinoa Heartilly? [4 marks]

    **Q3. What do you know of Blue Magic? Name and describe three examples. [5 marks]**

    **Q4.  Name the six members of the party who defeated Sorceress Ultimecia and describe their finishing blows. [3 marks]**

    **Q5. What is Forbidden Magic? Name and describe an example of it. [3 marks]**

    **Q6. What are GFs? What is the main side effect of junctioning them, if any? [2 marks]**

    **Q7. Who is Norg, and what is his relationship with Garden? [2 marks]**

    **Q8. What is the purpose of SeeD? [2 marks]**

    **Q9. In your opinion, what should be SeeD's purpose and direction after Question 8's purpose has been fulfilled? [3 marks]**

    **Q10. Define the terms "Lunatic Pandora" and "Crystal Pillar". What is their relation to each other? [5 marks]**

    **Bonus Question: Explain in no more than 100 words, and no less than 20, why you should be chosen as a SeeD Cadet.**

    [Total 30 marks]

**                                                            End of paper.**

    Kyra took a deep breath, and started scribbling on the blank answer booklet.

    Its pages soon started to fill as she wrote, seemingly not stopping even to think.

    Fifteen minutes later, she set her pen down, and handed the answer booklet to Quistis.

     "Done." She said, breathing a sigh of relief.

     "You're fast." Quistis nodded with approval, looking at her watch to check the time. "But are you accurate? We shall see."

    She looked through the answers, marking with her red pen as she went along.

     "Wait here." She told Kyra when she had finished, and walked out of the classroom carrying the booklet with her.

    As her office door slid close behind her, she faced the three restless SeeDs who had been waiting outside for the whole of fifteen minutes, and more.

     "How was it? Did she fail?" Selphie was the first to rush up, her face brimming with anticipation.

    Quistis looked blankly at Selphie, appearing indisposed to answer her question.

     "Lemme guess… she passed?" Zell grinned wryly, and received a dirty look from Selphie.

     "How can you still grin when.." She stopped short when she spotted Quistis' pale face.

     "Quisty! What's wrong? You look sick!" She grabbed the latter's shoulder, peering anxiously at her.

   Shaking her head, Quistis placed a hand on her temple.

     "I'm fine… just a little… surprised. She more than passed. She had a near perfect score!

      Look at this!"

    They crowded around her, looking at the question sheet.

     "Quisty…. Some of the questions look familiar."

     "They should be. Questions 6, 8, 9, and 10 are last sitting's A-level SeeD Exam questions!"

     "What? For an enrolment test? You're wicked, Instructor Quisty!"

     "But it wasn't good enough, apparently." She grumbled.

     "So what's the big deal if she passes?" Irvine snorted, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed beneath the chest.

     "We don't have _any reason to reject her application with such a high score!"_

     Irvine turned to her with a huge grin.

     "Oh. I beg to differ, Quisty."

                                                    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

    She followed Irvine, Selphie and Zell to the training stadium – a place she had not seen when she played the game in her world.

    _I suppose they must have expanded the Garden since the end of the game…_

     "Say… can I ask you something?" She turned to Zell, who immediately shifted a few more meters away from her.

     "What? I don't have SARS or anything contagious!" She raised an annoyed eyebrow at him.

     "What's your question?' Zell eyed her warily, still keeping the distance between them.

     "How long has it been since you guys defeated Sorceress Ultimecia… you know?"

     "Two years exactly. What is it to you?"

     "Kyra, how old are you?" Selphie cut in, slipping into the space between her and Zell, while elbowing him in the ribs.

     "Eighteen."

     "Wow, still very young! I'm envious of you!"

     "Alright, here we are." Irvine stopped in front of the Fitness Conditioning Centre.

     "You are required to perform an Individual Physical Proficiency Test, or IPPT for short. Here." He handed her another piece of paper.

   _Oh God… I'm really starting to dread single sheets of paper…_

                                       **[IPPT TESTING REQUIREMENTS]**

**    Station A:**

    Pull ups : 20

    Sit ups (Repetitive): 40

    **Station B:**

Push ups (Repetitive): 40

    4 X 10M Shuttle Run: 10.2 seconds

    **Station C:**

Standing Broad Jump: 245cm

    2.4km run: 10 min

"Your Station Masters will be me, Selphie and Zell for A, B and C respectively." Irvine continued.

    Her face paled as she ran through the list.

     "…But this is…"

     "This is the barest requirement for all who wish to enroll in Garden. They have been adjusted in accordance with your age. Ready?"

    Faintly, she nodded.

    _How long has it been since I last exercised?_

_   Told you so. Barely passing… and now I doubt you can even manage a pass hahahahaha!_

_    Oh, shut up!_

                                                   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

    An hour later, Kyra lay sprawled on the cemented ground in exhaustion, barely breathing due to her earlier exertions.

     "You failed in all your physical tests." Irvine shook his head in mock regret. "It's a pity though. You were marginally close in most of 'em."

    _I knew it…_

    Even though she had expected to fail, it was still depressing enough, for Kyra did not accept failure easily.

    "You still have to go through the medical." Irvine reminded her.

    "What?"

    If there was anything she disliked more than physical tests, it was medical screenings.

    And she had landed both within a day.

    _What kind of sh*tty day is this?_

_      How I wish this was merely a nightmare I could have woken up from!_

                                                   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

    She was later examined by Dr. Kadowaki, who had managed to conceal her surprise, though barely, at the appearance of the strange-looking girl.

     "An exchange student from Trabia." Quistis told her with a set mouth and quickly left the Infirmary, signaling to the doctor that the less she questioned, the better it would be.

    "Zell, escort her back to your dorm after she finishes the medical." She ordered Zell, who was waiting outside.

    Kyra came out after ten minutes, surprised to see that it was him, and not Quistis, waiting for her.

    She gave him the medical report.

     "Dr. Kadowaki said I'm not supposed to see this…"

     "Yeah, we should give it to Quisty."

     "I wonder if I passed…"

     "I dunno..." He shrugged his shoulders as they headed towards his dorm.

    She nodded thoughtfully, and sneaked a sidelong glance at him.

    Given her usual behavior, she would have shrieked and been all over him the moment she saw him, but strangely, the sense of excitement while she was in the other world had watered down quite a fair bit.

   _I suppose the shock of being in a sci-fi like proceeding has dulled my shrieking instincts._

_    But he's still cute though. Cuter in person, actually._

    She suppressed a giggle, a little unsuccessfully.

     "Aren't you going in?"

     "Oh, ok." She blinked, only now realizing they were already in front of his dorm. She started to walk in, but stopped and turned when Zell did not follow.

     "You wait here. We'll get back to you as soon as the results are out." Zell disappeared from her sight as soon as he finished speaking.

     "Oh brother…" She sighed. "What am I gonna do if they refuse to admit me as a Cadet?"

                                                   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

     "So now the conclusion is…?" Selphie asked, tapping her foot to emphasize her impatience.

     "She got 28 out of 30 marks for a written, a total failure for the IPPT, but medical examination shows she's perfectly healthy except for an overtly high Body Mass Index." Quistis rattled off Kyra's results, adjusting the spectacles perched on her nose to take a better look at them.

     "That's two out of three. A pass by any counts." Irvine said.

     "And it isn't justifiable to turn away a potential Cadet who has such in-depth knowledge about Garden, even if she failed the IPPT." Quistis tapped her lip with a pen, pondering about their next step with Kyra.

    _And it'd be dangerous if she were to fall into the wrong hands…_

     "Yeah, and I really wanna know what happened to T-Rex!" Zell said suddenly, examining his gloves as he spoke. "I'm sure I didn't kill it!"

     "Hold on… aren't we supposed to be making life difficult for her?" Selphie protested, her spirits dampening when she realized that she could no longer experience the fun of sabotaging the new girl.

     "I just got a message from Squall. He gave me full authority to handle Kyra's matters, but we have to enroll her, or the deal's off, and we lose the hundred thousand Gil deposit to… you know."

     "Shucks… Quisty. I was looking forward to barring her entry!"

     "But we still can make life difficult for her, Sefie!" Quistis said with that wicked twinkle in the eye again.

     "We can? How?" Selphie grabbed her friend's arm tightly, almost yanking it off in her excitement.

     "Through the written test answers alone, I already know who her favorite is.

       One of the questions was to describe the party who defeated Sorceress Ultimecia and their finishing blows. One particular person had two whole pages describing the finishing blow!"

     "Who?" Selphie's grasp on Quistis' arm tightened even more, causing her to wince. Carefully, she extracted her arm from the iron grip.

     "Now now, Selphie. Did you think it was on a whim that I insisted that Zell escorted her back from the Infirmary?

      Zell?"

     "She didn't do anything drastic… but kept giving me looks." Zell spoke with a shudder and a paling face.

     "Awww… poor Zell." Irvine smirked at him, the upturning of his lips conflicting directly with his words.

     "Why do I get the feeling you aren't exactly sorry for me?"

     "Nah… you're too sensitive, _Zell dearie_."

     "Bull—"

   Quistis' authoritative voice effectively broke up their squabbling, displaying fully the no-nonsense attitude typical of the Instructor.

     "Alright, there's no time to waste! I have another problem to take care of!"

    _A much bigger problem… I'm afraid._

     "Sefie, you take her to the Hall Master and request for a new dorm. Remember, she is an EXCHANGE STUDENT from Trabia.

      Irvine, get her equipped and show her around."

     "Why me? Shouldn't that be _his_ job?" Irvine cocked his head towards Zell.

     "You forget. We're trying to prevent her from settling down too comfortably. So we can't have the favorite developing feelings for her, can we?"

     "As if I would!" Zell objected indignantly. "You should know me better than that, Quisty!"

     "Better to be safe than sorry."

     "What am I supposed to do then?" Zell pointed his gloved thumb towards himself, eager for a piece of "action".

     "You will stay far, far away from the girl. Avoid contact if possible."

     "But Quisty…" He stopped his protests when she shot a warning glance at him. "Tch fine… but how am I s'pposed to find out about T-Rex like this!"

     "I'll help you, Zell! But what were you doing in the woods without junctioning a GF anyway? Didn't we tell you not to wander off?" Selphie's pouted at him, her tone resembling that of a mother chiding her child.

     "I was… thinking…"

    The unspoken end of his reply hung in the air, for everyone knew just who he had been thinking about. 

    An oppressive blanket of silence covered the room, while everyone struggled to find a way to break it.

     "Okay…so that settles then. I'll be putting her into one of my higher level classes, so bring her to see me in the evening after you have gotten her equipped." Quistis finally spoke up, giving out orders crisply, and her brain functioning like a well-oiled machine despite the weird atmosphere merely seconds ago.

     "Aye Aye, Ma'am!" Selphie saluted her with mock obeisance.

     "Cut it out, Sefie!" Quistis laughed, picking up her teaching materials. "See you guys afterwards."__

    She pressed the door pad for her friends, allowing them to file out quickly from her office.

    Just as she started out towards her next class, she saw the source of her biggest problem.

     "Seifer Almasy!" She called out.

    The blond man turned around cockily, and smirked in the same manner when he saw who had called him.

     "Couldn't get enough of me, Instructor?"

     "Very funny. Why didn't you hand in the assignment due yesterday?"

     "Instructor, Instructor, Instructor. You should know very well such assignments are  pointless, since I already know the facts like the back of my hand."

     "Regardless of how well you know the facts, Mr. Almasy, an assignment tests not just your knowledge, but your application skills as well! AND your sense of discipline, something that's _sorely lacking_ in you!"

     "My dearest Instructor! How you hurt a student's feelings! Is that the way you encourage some who's anxious about passing his SeeD exam?"

     "Anxious? You?" Quistis raised an eyebrow, scrutinizing him from top to bottom with feigned disbelief written all over her face. "I highly doubt you'd be anxious about anything."

    Seifer stared at her for a while, his expression unreadable.

    Quistis started to feel uneasy under his unmoving gaze, uncharacteristic of her usual steadiness, if only because she had expected some caustic retort from Seifer – not this kind of brooding silence.

    "I've said this before, and I'll say it again. You're a mediocre Instructor. You'll never understand what it's like to be brilliant like me!"

    She appeared unmoved by his words.

     "Say whatever you want. You'd better hand up that assignment by 1800hrs today, or believe it or not, you'll be facing much more than detention."

    Coolly, she turned on her heel and started striding away, but stopped after a few steps.

     "In case you've forgotten… you already have two black marks on your case. One more, and you're out." She called out.

    _Damn you, Almasy. If I wasn't your Instructor, you would've been kicked out a long time ago!_

_     Utter waste of breath and effort!_

    Seifer glowered at her retreating back. He knew she was right… one wrong move and he'd be kissing goodbye to all chances of becoming a SeeD.

    _I'll show you, Mediocre Instructor. I'll show you just what I'm capable of, and you won't be able to handle it!_

                                                   *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

    Yay! Thanks for your kind reviews, u don't need to know and Legendary Super Candyce!

    Again, a very long chapter. Maybe this is a trend. I hope not. May I ask you guys if you prefer short or long chapters?

    And as you can see… a hint of Seiftis is poking it's head into the fic. That's right… they will be together eventually… if I get my way, that is. *snicker* And Kyra will have no small part in bringing them together. Hahahahahaha Muahahahahaha. I'm sleep-deprived delirious.


	4. Chapter 4 Guess who's my neighbor?

**                                                  Chapter 4 – Guess who's my neighbor?**

    "So… do you have any specialties, for example, Marital Arts, Archery, Fencing?" Irvine Kinneas turned to her when he reached the middle of the Weaponry Room, cocking a questioning brow.

     "Um… no. The only sport I've done is volleyball…" She trailed off, gazing in awe at the weapons behind him.

    Swords, bows and arrows, nunchakus, gunblades, spears, tridents, and other weapons of any conceivable kind, some of which she couldn't put a name to, were displayed neatly in the room.

     "Oh, and I have experience in a uniformed group, though." She finished after she was done giving the room a once-over, and looked back at Irvine.

    Irvine rolled his eyes.

     "That's irrelevant, Miss.

       Here, you try handling these, and see which one suits you the most."

    She tried a gunblade, but found it too heavy.

     "I can barely hold it up." She groaned, massaging her arm, which was sore due to her too ambitious attempt of twirling it "_like in the video game_".

     "How about whips?"

    She took hold of one, and tried to snap it at a particular target.

     "Whoa!" Irvine jumped away in time to avoid being struck by its flying tail.

     "I can't control it." Kyra said sheepishly.

     "Nunchakus?" He offered.

     "I'd hurt myself first."

     "Swords?"

     "Ditto above."

     "Bows and Arrows?"

     "I have crossed eyes."

    He started rattling off a long list of weapons, but for each one of them, she had an excuse not to use it.

    The edge in his voice started to increase manifold, in reflection of the dwindling of his patience – when suddenly it hit him.

    _Oh, I get it! She's trying to hint that she has no proficiency at weapons, so that she can learn hand-to-hand combat! And Zell is a Master of hand-to-hand!_

_     As interesting as that would be to witness, I'd never dump such a bomb on my buddy!_

     "Hey, didn't you mention you know how to play volleyball?" He suddenly perked up as an idea crossed his mind.

     "Yeah."

     "How good were you?"

     "Hmmm…. Excellent, in my biased opinion. I was the star player in my school team, and we'd won several gold trophies during my stint."

     "I have just found your weapon." Irvine grinned, and started poking around in the room, apparently searching hard for something.

     "What do you mean?" Kyra stared at his vigorously moving body, mightily puzzled by his actions.

     "It's time for volleyball practice, girl." Irvine grinned, holding up a ball in his right hand.

**                                    *        *        *        *        *        *        *        ***

_So… that explains how you were able to hit me._

_    Shut the hell up._

    She was p*ssed. Yeah she was. She had it all planned out… getting up close and personal with _her darling Zell_ while he was teaching her martial arts. Maybe she might even accidentally brush against him or something.. and…. Oh, they were now all but ruined by that Kinneas!

    _Never really liked him!_

_    I think the dislike is a mutual affair._

_    Why do I feel kinda glad?_

_    You know, it says something about you, that even self-proclaimed lady-killer Kinneas doesn't like you._

_    Not as if I'd miss his attention or anything._

     "…Kyra Lee. She is an exchange student from Trabia Garden. Please assist her in keeping up with the curriculum if she should approach you for help."

    Quistis turned to her. "Kyra, your seat is right at the back."

    Kyra shifted her gaze towards her stipulated seat, and thought she vaguely recognized the guy that would be sitting next to her.

     "Your neighbor is Seifer Almasy. Feel free to approach him should you need any help."

    Kyra gawked at her.

    _Is she serious? At the back of her mind, she was all the more surprised that this Seifer Almasy didn't raise any objections at the Instructor's statement._

    Still in mild shock, she walked towards her seat.

     "Hi." She said with a timid smile, only to be rewarded with a piercing glare that displayed no little degree of hostility.

     "Now we shall begin our lesson.

       Guardian Forces In depth theories – the benefits and side effects of reliance on GF's.

       While Guardian Forces have been an extremely important aspect in our use of paramagic, with their junctioning dating back to the pioneer batch of SeeD cadets, there have been various studies outlining the relative side effects, the most major of which is the loss of memory..."

    Kyra listened attentively to the lecture, not taking her eyes off Quistis even for a single moment.

    After approximately ten minutes, a minor disturbance broke her concentration.

     "Hey, you. Are you really a Garden cadet?" The _disturbance_ asked with a tinge of disbelief.

     "Yes, I am." She replied curtly, and resumed taking her notes.

     "Well, I don't believe you. The physical requirements for enrolment  are pretty high and you…" He paused, looking up and down at her as if examining a specimen. "…do not look like you could've passed _any_ of them." He sneered.

    _Bingo! Right in the middle of the red center hahahahaha!_

    She simmered from Seifer's insult, but chose to ignore him as a response.

     "In fact, are you sure you didn't doctor the results to the theoretical tests as well?" He continued snidely, seemingly intent on provoking her. "You look like a Li'l Miss Piggy incarnate."

    _That's it. That's f**king it! No more nice little Kyra, a**hole Almasy!_

_    Getting a little crude, aren't we._

     "Take this." She told Seifer quietly, gritting her teeth while taking her ring off and handing it to him.

    In a moment of sheer dumbness, and partially to see what she was up to, he took it with a puzzled expression, although he was more curious about the strange look on her face than the ring itself.

    The moment Seifer touched it…

     "_AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" She let out an eardrum-blasting scream that made Quistis stop and look up coldly, while the rest of the class turned their faces towards her in alarm._

     "What's going on here?" Quistis strode huffily over to them.

     "H…he took… m…my r..ing…" Kyra clutched her head in an exaggerated manner.

     "Seifer Almasy! If you're more interested in bullying the newcomer than my lesson, you can jolly well get out of my class."

     "As if I _want to be in your class…" He muttered, not bothering to explain himself. "If it weren't for the black marks…"_

     "Have I not warned you explicitly this morning that one more black mark, and you're out? Do you wish for that to happen?

       What do you have to say for yourself?"

    Seifer narrowed his eyes, pinning his gaze on the Instructor's face.

    _Damn you, Trepe. You don't trust me. Whatever I say to defend myself would be futile, so what's the use of explaining?_

    He glowered at her wordlessly, then turned away, flipping the ring at Kyra.

     "Take back your damn thing." He snapped, shoving his feet onto his desk rudely.

    Kyra caught it deftly and put it on, clamping down on her screaming as suddenly as she had started it.

     "And Kyra. I will not tolerate such disruption of my lessons under any circumstances. Do not try to deceive me, or any other Instructor again, or I shall issue a black mark against you as well.

    Quistis turned to walk towards the blackboard.

     "The both of you, stay back after class."

    _Hehehehe__. Looks like your plan to frame Almasy has backfired superbly in your face Ramius gloated as she stared dumbfounded at Quistis, who had resumed lecturing as if nothing had happened._

    _But… how did she know I was faking?_

     "You underestimate the Blonde Instructor." Seifer said softly, as if reading her mind, serious in tone and expression. "She may be mediocre when it comes to training cadets but otherwise, she's sharper than a well-honed katana blade."

     "What are you trying to say?"

     "That you'd better think twice about trying to fool her." Seifer continued, maintaining his gaze on Quistis. "Or she'll make sure you regret it…" He trailed off.

    _Interesting. Kyra observed him with a smirk. She noted the way his glances would always hover around one place, lingering on it, resting on that one single spot in the manner that a moth flies towards a flame._

    On Quistis Trepe.

**                                    *        *        *        *        *        *        *        ***

    Kyra and Seifer stayed in their seats, waiting for the rest of the students to filter out of the classroom. Some of them seemed oblivious to the growing impatience in the two sitting at the back of the class, hovering around their Instructor like flies around a cup of creamy soup.

    _Trepies. She concluded, regarding them with not a little distaste. She always thought them to be pesky little people while she had played the game in her world, and their physical presence only reinforced her belief._

    When the last of them finally left the room, presumably to grab a seat in the overcrowded cafeteria at lunch hour, Kyra rose and walked up to Quistis, while Seifer stayed in his seat as if his bum was stuck to the plastic material.

     "Sit." Quistis ordered crisply, crossing her arms while staring at Kyra, apparently in contemplation of something related to her.

    Quistis' stare moved back to Seifer as she started addressing him.

     "Seifer, you know very well that your two black marks will be used against you during the final evaluation of your SeeD exam score. Points will definitely be deducted in the area of discipline."

    Seifer snorted. "Yes, you have impressed that upon me well enough, and often enough."

     "But you do not take my advice, which is to your disadvantage, believe you me.

       Despite your determination to waste your chances away, I have a proposition for you." Quistis paused.

     "Can't be anything good." He grunted, the lack of interest displayed on his face in direct contrast with his urge to find out more about the "proposition".

     "You will listen, regardless of whether you accept it or not." Quistis interrupted him, directing a glare that warned Seifer against any further comments he was inclined to make.

     "Seifer. Since you proclaim to know so much about everything in the curriculum, to the extent of treating assignments as unnecessary, perhaps you would like to make full use of that _knowledge_ and _expertise you have acquired._

       I want you to train Kyra on all physical and practical aspects from spell-casting to junctions, to mission operatives. Her theoretical knowledge is excellent; you need not worry about that though." Quistis stopped a little to let them absorb what she had just said.

     "At the end of two weeks, I will give her a basic test to see how well you have trained her. If she passes it, your two black marks will be struck off your record." She turned to Kyra. "And you will be eligible for taking the SeeD exam one month later."

    _Provided you can last that long, that is._

     "WHAT? You expect me to train DUMBO over here to SeeD-exam readiness in just two weeks? Instructor Trepe… it took even you, the child prodigy of Balamb years of training before you achieved SeeD status! How can you expect _her_ to achieve what takes years in two weeks?" He gestured at certain parts of Kyra's body to emphasize his point.

     "Thank you for your compliment, Seifer." Quistis smiled coolly, knowing fully well that it was not his intention to praise her. "I never said you had to succeed. You probably can't do it anyway."

     "Don't I have any say in this?" Kyra asked in a meek voice.

     "NO!" They both replied in unison, and then looked at each other in surprise.

     "Look, Seifer. I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself. Whether or not you want to take it is up to you. And you won't be penalized even if you fail. What's there to lose?"

     "……"

     "AND you will both be exempted from all classes."

    _It wouldn't hurt to try. He admitted grudgingly._

     "Alright. I'll do it. But rest assured I will MAKE HER FRIGGIN' PASS THE TEST AND THE SEED EXAM."

    Quistis smiled at him, this time in an approving manner.

     "Very good. Your tutorship will begin… now. You're dismissed."

    _Brilliant, Trepe. Simply brilliant._

**                                    *        *        *        *        *        *        *        ***

     "How was it?" Selphie tugged on Quistis' arm hard, unaware of the discomfort she was causing the other girl.

     "An annoying twit like the previous two… but this Kyra is a little brighter… and definitely more cunning than them."

     "I totally agree with the cunning part. She actually tried to land herself some personal training sessions with Zell. Whatever weapon I tried to get her to use, she had some excuse. If I wasn't quick enough, Zell… you would be cursing your luck and Hyne simultaneously by now." Irvine interjected with a smirk.

     "Gee, thanks a lot, Irv." Zell grinned. "Knew you wouldn't let me down."

    Quistis suddenly covered her mouth, apparently trying to cover a laugh that was squirreling up her throat – an action that attracted the other three SeeDs' attention more than anything else.

     "She tried to get Seifer in trouble!" She managed to spit the line out, before the laughter consumed her again.

     "Seifer? But how?" Selphie tugged even harder at Quistis' arm, eager for a more detailed version.

     "Wow, she's got the nerve."

     "That makes her seem likeable in my books."

     "Favorite Charrie! You stay away from her!" Selphie made a shoving action at Zell. "An alt-world chick is never likeable! Mark my words!"

     "Alright! Quit pushing me!"

     "What did she do, Quisty?"

      "She tried to trick me into thinking that Seifer had pilfered her ring. Made a huge din during my lesson with that scream of hers." Quistis clucked her tongue, shaking her head in exasperation.

     "Weren't you angry, Quisty?"

     "Initially, I was. She had the gall to attempt fooling her Instructor barely twenty minutes into her first class! But…" She continued laughing, ignoring the eager faces before her.

     "But what?" Selphie pressed on.

     "The look on Seifer's face was priceless! HAHAHAHAHA!" She bent over at the waist, unsuccessfully trying to curb the laughter.

      "Like this!" She imitated Seifer's open-mouthed, wide-eyed confusion. "Who could stay angry at that kind of situation?"

      "Well, looks like we've got an amusing one in our hands." Irvine grinned again, clamping his arm around a squealing Selphie.

     "Yeah… but none of you found out what happened to T-Rex from her!" Zell crossed his arms in sulky petulance.

     "Why do you keep harping on T-Rex?" Quistis gave a sigh.

     "Yeah! It's already dead!" Selphie pushed him lightly on the shoulder.

     "Zell, just forget about T-Rex. For all you know, she would've forgotten about it!"

     "Irv, it never hurts to try!"

     "Remind me why this is important?"

     _Because she may have saved my life._

    Of course, Zell did not say out the real reason behind his eagerness to investigate T-Rex's death.

     "Cos there might be a new move I can learn if I knew how it died. Satisfied?"

    He walked out on them without waiting for an answer.

**                                    *        *        *        *        *        *        *        ***

    That night, Zell had a terrible nightmare of the T-Rex's ghost sobbing in front of him and exclaiming that it had died from ruptured internal organs caused by an unidentified flying object crashing into him.

**                                    *        *        *        *        *        *        *        ***

A/N: Yay! Finished! I sacrificed sleep to pump out this chapter, even if there is effectively only one regular reader. Oh, in case there're any grammar or spelling mistakes, forgive me. My brain isn't functioning that well right now. Maybe I'll edit when it is.

Legendary Super Candyce: Thanks for continuously reviewing! I will try to keep the chapters short for you… try being the operative word. Hahaha. Methinks this chapter was an improvement, at least?


	5. Chapter 5 Seifer Almasy : Closet Instru...

**Chapter 5 – Seifer Almasy: Closet Instructor**

    Author's Notes: Oh. My. God. I am overwhelmed. _Six_ reviews for the last chapter alone… I'm happy… I truly am. Which urges me to write more, so here I am with another chapter heh.

    Ivorypolarbear: Thanks for telling me Kyra isn't Mary-Sueish. That is a huge confidence booster, if anything… and I will try to keep it that way. Feel free to holler at me if it even strays a little bit down that path.

    Boggart: Heh… our resident newbie at SF. Thanks for the nice review!

    Legendary Super Candyce: Oh yes, Seifer's a… jackass sometimes, but his training sessions are nothing less than entertaining, at least for us…  Thanks for reviewing every chapter!

    MAiLLEE*Bee: I'm glad you enjoyed the fic! Thanks for your review.

    Oselta Mivir: Oh my… I'm flattered by your compliments! Don't worry, I always finish what I start, even in the face of minimal reviews. I'm kinda stubborn like that. Thanks for the words of encouragement!  ^_^

    Saiyan-legacy102: Yeah, I can empathize with the slow comp thingy…. Happens to me too. Right now…  I'm trying to think of new ways to bully Kyra. Poor Kyra lol! She ain't having a great time this chapter too… not at all. Thanks for the review!

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

_You asked me why I tear_

_ Do you not know my fear?_

_ Or are you just pretending_

_ Oblivious _

_ to my suffering?_

_ Your words cutting deep_

_ Lethal claws that rip_

_ My fragile heart to pieces_

_ Tearing it apart_

_ But still_

_ I yearn for you_

_Cos__ I'm hopelessly lost_

_ In my sea of devotion_

_Drowning, Struggling_

_in the deepness of your blues._

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

   They were standing at the Training Stadium, baking under the scorching sun.

    Kyra did not like this place. It woke up unsavory memories of her failed IPPT just yesterday afternoon. A kind of shame would wash over her whenever she did think about it. Like how she had exerted all her energies on each test, only to be faced with the smirks on the Station Masters when her efforts failed to make the grade.

    Rubbing the tip of her shoe against the sandy ground, she couldn't help but pull a long face at Seifer.

     "Kinneas told me your weapon was a _ball_." He ignored her less-than-sunny disposition, sneering at her choice of weapon. "Alright, let's see how good your _ball-hitting skills_ are then."

     "BALL-HITTING? GET YOUR IDEAS RIGHT! VOLL—"

     "Save your lectures for someone who needs them." He cut in, not bothering to mince his words. "As far as _I'm concerned, it's ball-hitting." He let out a degrading laugh, which did nothing but increase the temperature of Kyra's rapidly boiling blood._

     She seethed at him. She had considered her volleyball skills to be the greatest achievement she had ever attained. The pristine, shining conditions of her various trophies and medals at home were prime evidence of her passion for the sport, and the almost regal pride she held with regard to her excellence in it.

     And now, this brash, poison-tongued dude had dared to call it ball-hitting!

    _Oh, I'll show him alright. Ball-hitting, indeed!_

     "Give it your best shot, piggy." He taunted, crossing his arms as if it would be a piece of cake to dodge the ball.

    With a piercing glare directed towards him, Kyra placed her new ball at the tip of her fingers, positioning her body in a serve-ready position.

    _"Miss Lee, this ball has bounce-back capabilities. It is made a of a rather special material – works almost the same way as a boomerang, only in the ball form. We call it the Lyrith Ball." Irvine explained, handing it to her._

_     "Lyrith Ball?"_

_     "Named after the genius who invented it. Be careful… we have only one of these. It is valued at approximately… five hundred thousand gil."_

    "Eat this, loser! The five-hundred thou hit that you'll never recover from!" She yelled at Seifer.

    Letting out the "battle-cry" she always made before a serve, she launched the ball into the air, leaped skywards, and hit the Lyrith with the ball of her palm just as it descended to a certain position above her head.

    The Lyrith flew towards Seifer, gathering speed and wind along its downward path.

    Shifting a step to his left, he barely managed to dodge it at the last second, the ball whizzing just millimeters past his cropped hair.

    Trying not to show his surprise, he smirked at Kyra.

      "Not bad. But not good enough, piggy. You have to hit me first, and as far as I can see, you're way out of your league."

    The ball bounced back to where Kyra stood. She smacked it with her palm, again and again, but each time failing to hit Seifer.

     It was always the case of so near, and yet so far. Her frustration was a palpable mass gathering at her chest, for it seemed that Seifer had evaded the ball easily, with his arms still crossed beneath his chest as if he didn't need to use his full concentration to avoid getting hit.

    Seifer, of course, did not let out the fact that he was utilizing every ounce of strength in his legs, for his mile-high arrogance prevented him from admitting that he had trouble dealing with anything… anything at all.

    And besides, this was only a paltry game of dodge-ball. How could he mar his flawless reputation by letting himself be graced by it, even if it was a little bit?

    The Lyrith came at him again.

    This time, it managed to brush his cheek, leaving a grubby mark on it. 

     "Oh please, if you can't even hit me square in the face, I suggest you drop this and pick a more conventional weapon. Like Nunchakus. Those are the easiest to use."

     "I was just warming up!" Kyra replied, gritting her teeth as he insulted her skills yet again.

    _Looks like I'll have to use my ultimate shot. Too dangerous, I know. But he asked for it._

_     HE FVCKING ASKED FOR IT!_

    She finally succumbed to the nameless flame that had been raging up and down inside her. Flaring, scorching her insides, urging and seducing her with its magnetic voice to lash out at the offending donkey opposite her.

    _Shut that hole in your face, you braying piece of sh*t!_

    She threw the ball upwards again.

    It skewed diagonally towards the left instead of straight up as she usually did her serves.

     "You can't even serve properly now! Give it up!" Seifer chortled, apparently finding her tireless efforts amusing.

    Ignoring him, she started sprinting towards the ball, leaped high into the air, and pulled her arm back, arching her body like a bow pulled to the maximum, ready for release.

    She pushed her arm forward in a perfect curve, the ball of her palm touching the flying, spinning sphere at the peak of its flight, and slammed it viciously towards Seifer.

    It hurtled towards him like a meteor, the speed of its descent so fast that it was nothing more than a blur to the human naked eye.

     Seifer prepared to evade it by guessing the ball's estimated path. Shifting a few steps to his left, he turned his head to look at Kyra with another smirk, obviously assuming that he was out of danger, away from the ball's path.

    When he turned his head back, what he saw completely wiped the smirk off his face.

    The ball  seemed to _change direction_ and _increase its speed_ dramatically.

    He relaxed a little when it appeared to fall a little short of hitting him…

     When the ball _swerved upwards suddenly…_

     And hit him squarely, resoundingly, and to Kyra, gratifyingly in the middle of his perfectly sculpted features.

     "THUNK!" The force of its impact caused him to topple, falling over onto his back.

     "WHAT THE F*CK?!!!" He remained lying still for a while, blinking dazedly at the sky as he tried to gather his bearings.

    The sky seemed to be revolving in dizzying spirals, the turning circles refusing to go away no matter how rapidly he blinked.

     "Ahhh…" She sighed with smug satisfaction. "The ULTIMATE combination of the perfect serve and the perfect hit. It has been known to cause mild to severe concussion to those unfortunate enough to be hit by it. Especially fully in the face." She paused, offering a hand to help him up. 

     "I call it the A**hole Ball… cos it hits A**holes like you especially hard. Hahahahaha!" She grinned sardonically.

    He swatted her hand away, humiliated by his own failure to see it coming. And letting it hit him. And letting the surprise of the hit trip him, resulting in his fall to the ground. Yeah, that was it. He was caught by surprise. If he had been more serious, the ball would've been nothing more than little pieces of material now.

    He hoisted himself up after some difficulty.

     "You'd better watch your mouth, pig."

    Gingerly, he touched his nose, where two thin lines of blood had trailed down from the nostrils down his face.

    _However…she did manage to hit me. I'll give her that much._

     "Alright. You may use that as your weapon." He snapped, wiping his nose with the back of his hand. "It does have a certain effectiveness to it. Any blockhead would be able to master it with some training." He snorted derisively. "But you need to work on increasing the strength of your hit. And it is ineffective against Mechanical Enemies. That's where your magic comes in." He rattled off. "You need to learn your junctions too."

    _MY, my. He does have the knowledge and style to pull off an Instructor act. And he certainly does remind me of one particular Instructor. Mmm hmmm hmmm…. Hahahaha very interesting…_

     "Whatcha laughing at?" Seifer suddenly turned to face her, annoyed by the smirk on her lips, something that he knew was often present on his. Which made him all the more annoyed. It was his trademark expression. It did not please him to see it on someone else, especially since it was at his expense, surely.

     "Oh, nothing. So how do you propose I strengthen my attack?"

     "Not so fast. You need to work on your defense first. Did you notice how open to attack you were while playing with that fancy ball of yours? I could've killed you before you even got to touch it. And your speed is atrocious. Ditto your accuracy." He closed his eyes, rubbing on his temples as if they were in great pain. Then he gestured at her. "AND LOOK AT ALL THAT FLAB YOU CARRY!! Most of all you need vigorous physical training!"

     "Wha—" She had a BAD feeling about what he was about to say.

     "From today onwards, this'll be your schedule."

    Another white piece of paper.

    With a list of stuff she didn't want to see.

    She stared at it. The words seemed to swim in her vision. She did not like the looks of it at all.

    **TRAINING CURRICULUM**

**   Morning (0600 hrs – 1200 hrs)**

    Warm-ups                                         10min

    Horse-stance                                   30min

    Muscle-toning exercises               60min

    Cardio-vascular exercises            60min

    Push-ups                                           x100

    Pull-ups                                             x50

    Sit-ups                                               x100

    Running                                            10 km

    Star-jumps                                        x100

    Jumping-Jacks                                x100

    **Bonus**: Rock-climbing

                  Parachute-jumping

                  Sky-diving

    NO REST IN BETWEEN.

    **Lunch (1200hrs – 1230hrs)**

**    Afternoon (1230hrs – 1730hrs)**

    Magic Lesson                                  1230hrs -1430hrs

    Junctioning lesson                          1430hrs – 1530hrs

    Explosive Handling                         1530hrs – 1630hrs

    Ball-hitting Practice                        1630hrs – 1730hrs

    **Dinner (1730hrs – 1800hrs)**

    **Night (1800hrs – 2100hrs)**

    Weapons Handling                         1630hrs – 1730hrs

    Special Ops Training                     1900hrs – 2000hrs              

    Self-study                                          2000hrs – 2100hrs

     "ARE YOU TRYING TO MURDER ME?" She exclaimed after going through the list.

     "That's tempting, but no." He laughed. "The curriculum will change as and when I see fit. If I feel you've done enough training for a particular area, or lack the practice in another, I will adjust your timetable accordingly. Bonus activities will only be permissible if you have completed all the physical training for the day. It is thus in your best interest to complete the exercises in your fastest time possible."

     "This is worse than the days of hellish volleyball practice camp." She muttered, averting her eyes away from the piece of paper.

    Upon hearing her words, Seifer clutched tightly at her collar and lifted her effortlessly off the ground, rendering her vigorous struggles ineffectual. She flailed her arms and legs when he showed no sign of putting her down.

     "LOOK AT YOU! YOU CAN'T EVEN RELEASE YOURSELF FROM AN "ENEMY'S" GRASP, MUCH LESS TALK ABOUT EVADING AN ATTACK!        

      HOW, PRAY TELL, WILL YOU BE ABLE TO HANDLE THE SEED EXAM LIKE THAT?" He stared unyieldingly into her eyes, as if his own were twin lasers and he was trying to blind her with them.

     "You should never have been accepted in the first place." He said quietly, and released his grip on her. 

    He pivoted on his heel, and stalked into the Fitness Conditioning Area (FCA), his boots clomping loudly on the ground to indicate his displeasure.

     "Do you think I _want to be here?_

       I was brought to your garden against my will.

       Now, all I wanna do is to get the hell outta here, but meanwhile, there's nothing else I can do! And you aren't helping to make it any easier!!" She spat at him. "HEY, ARE YOU EVEN LISTENING?"

    She followed him into the FCA. He was standing near the sit-up bench with his back facing her.

     "I don't care what your reason is." He turned around, his eyes flashing with something she could not identify. "But I expect full commitment from you. Either you do as I say, or you will get the hell out of Garden." He snarled, then softened his tone a little.

     "Since you're already here, no use moaning and complaining. You might as well make the best of the situation and try to pass the exam."

    _He's right._ She grudgingly admitted, and the long face she had pulled all this while lightened considerably.

     "Of course I'm right. I'm always right." Seifer smirked, as if reading her mind again. "Come on, Lil Miss Piggy."

     "I resent that!"

     "You can resent for all you want. It's not going to stop me! Hahahaha!

       Alright, let's not waste any more time. We'll skip the warm-ups, since I believe you have stretched enough muscles during that ball-hitting—" 

     "VOLLEYBALL! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO REMIND YOU! IT'S VOLLEYBALL!!!"

     "Fine, Volleyfvckingball.

       We'll start off with Horse Stance."

     "Whatever the hell that is." She wrinkled her nose in distaste at its unrefined name.

     "Oh, trust me, you will know what horse-stance in a few minutes." His grin seemed to have a certain kind of gleam to it… and it was definitely not a reflection of light.

    He strolled to a position behind her, and pressed both his hands on her shoulders.

     "Bend your knees at a ninety degrees position. Nope, lower, lower. Yeah, that's it. Hold your hands close to your body with your fists clenched." He moved to her front, scrutinizing her posture with a sharp glance.

     "Very good. Keep in this position for thirty minutes."

     "WHAT? THIRTY MINUTES? THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

     Without another word, he strode up to her, and placed a grubby boot on her quivering thigh.

      "Complain, and I'll make it even harder." He exerted more strength against her thigh to emphasize his point.

     "STOP! OKAY! I'LL DO AS YOU SAY!" She winced, fearing that her thigh bone would break anytime soon at the rate he was leaning against it.     

     "Make sure you keep to your word."

    She stared at his sadistically grinning face.

     _Oh God, what have I landed myself into?!!!_

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

_That night—_

     "OH GOD~~~!" Kyra moaned as she crumpled into her bed into a heap. "This is much, _much_ worse than volleyball practice camp. It's pure heaven compared to now!"

   _Enjoying yourself, huh?_

     "RAMIUS WOLFGANG! Tell me how I'm supposed to return home, right here, right now! Or I'll throw things at you until your handsome little face is covered all over with bumps!"

    Her bronzed muse materialized beside her bed. "Easy. Pass the SeeD exam."

     "GOD. I feared as much."

     "But you cannot divulge this to anyone, or you'll never go back. And you cannot tell anyone who's not in the know that you're not from this planet."

     "WHY are you doing this to me???" She had an overpowering urge to strangle him. Only the fact that he was a key to her return back to Earth held her back.

     "Cos your're stupid."

    She suddenly realized that his face resembled Seifer's. A LOT. Especially with that gloating smirk that she wanted more than anything to wipe against the floor.

    Perhaps she had superimposed her cruel tutor's face on the muse's, which was unsurprising as they were both on the very top of her hate list, along with Irvine Kinneas.

    _IF KINNEAS HADN'T RUINED MY PLANS, THIS WOULDN'T HAVE HAPPENED!_

     "Who were you talking to?" A new voice broke into her thoughts, coming from above her.

    Kyra's eyelids flew open. Ramius was gone, and his place, someone else was hovering over her.

     "Who're you?" Kyra jumped up in shock, but groaned loudly when imaginary skewers pierced through her strained limbs. She fell back onto the bed again, rubbing at her legs to lessen the pain, which was only an exercise in futility.

     "I'm Kimmie." Her smiling face hovered over Kyra's as she bent over the exhausted girl.

    Kyra sat up, slowly. She recognized this face.

    It was Zell's pigtailed library girl!

     "I'm your dorm-mate." She said, still smiling.

     Kyra could see that the smile did not quite reach her eyes.

     "My dorm-mate? Why wasn't I told of this? And why weren't you here yesterday night?"

     "I was on a mission. As for your first question… who knows?" She shrugged.

     "I heard Quistis say… you like Zell." Her smile had disappeared then, and replaced with a resentful glare.

     "Not really."

     "Liar! I'm warning you… STAY AWAY FROM MY ZELL!"

     "I AM NOT LYING! How can I possibly like a vid…" Kyra stopped short when she realized that the girl might not know about her "Alternative World" status.

     "Like a _what?"_

     "A… A chicken-wuss!" Kyra regretted her words the moment they came out of her mouth, cursing silently at her slip of tongue.

     "Well, thank you very much, Miss Kyra Lee."

    The tiny hairs at the back of her neck prickled when she heard the voice.

    She had not noticed him coming in. She must have been too exhausted.

    And never before had she wished so badly that her mouth did not react faster than her brain.

    For who should be standing behind Kimmie, but Zell himself?

     "We gave you Kimmie's dorm cos she's the only one willing to share her dorm." Quistis had walked in together with Zell, and was highly amused by the way things were turning out.

    She had dragged him to Kyra's dorm just so he could see for himself who the dorm-mate was, and develop a natural aversion to approaching it.

    For Kimmie was Zell's ex-girlfriend. And if he knew what was good for his recuperative processes, he would hesitate to stop by.

    And the result had turned out better than she had hoped.

    _No one can help you now, Kyra dear._

     "I… I didn't mean it that way." Kyra stuttered, trying to explain herself to Zell.

     "Then what? What other meaning can it possibly have?" Zell thrust his face nearly into hers. "I may look stupid, but not _that stupid!"_

    He glanced slightly at Kimmie, then turned to leave the dorm.

     "Zell!" Kyra reached out a hand to stop him, but was barred from him by Kimmie.

     "Didn't like him, huh?" She sneered. "I believe you."

     "B..but…" Hell, she was confused. She didn't know how she felt anymore, and Kimmie's death glare wasn't helping.

     "Well, I'll leave you girls to settle this among yourselves." Quistis winked at them and left.

     "I'm going to bed." Kyra said suddenly, and fell onto the bed.

     "Oh no you don't" Kimmie grabbed her arm, trying to pull her into a sitting position.

     "KIMMIE! I have to wake up at OH FIVE HUNDRED HOURS tomorrow. Do not disturb my sleep!" She threw Kimmie's hand off, and resumed her curled up position on the bed.

     "Just know this. If you _dare to make a move on Zell…"_

     _I'll give you hell._

    Her unfinished line seemed to threaten.

     "Go to sleep!"

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

    Quistis exited from the dorm, and walked down the corridor, only to find Zell waiting for her outside.

     "What's wrong?" She asked, when she saw the gloom surrounding him.

     "Why did you place them in the same dorm?"

     "You heard what I said."

     "BULL!" He yelled.

    Only the fact that she was female, and his friend refrained him from hitting her.

     "And even if that was true, why did you drag me to see her?"

     "See who?"

     "KIMMIE!" Each syllable of the name was uttered as if it cut him to say them. Indeed, some part of him was still bleeding with every mention of that name, be it from him or from another person's mouth.

     "It might not look this way… but it still… hurts when I see her."  
    Quistis searched his face, and found him to be speaking the truth.

    _I had no idea he was so serious about her!_

    "Zell…"

     "Even if I was the one who broke up with her…" He placed a hand over his eyes to stop the flush of heat gathering at the rims. "… It still isn't as easy as it looks."

     "I…I'm sorry… Zell.." She reached out guiltily for him.

     "I may act like a goofball…" He snubbed her hand, shifting away from her. "…but I have feelings too. Perhaps… you'll never understand." His voice dipped, until she had to strain her ears to catch his words.

     "Until you find that someone whom you value more than yourself."

    The words stung her, and angered her.

    But she could not deny the truth in them. She could only watch helplessly as he walked down the corridor, his shoulders drooping, his head bowed, and his feet dragging across the floor as if they weighed more than he could handle.

     She hated weakness of any kind, especially those displayed by herself.

    Now, even she had to admit she was failing.

    _I thought I knew everything._ Her lips curved into a tight, bitter smile.

    _I was wrong. Again._

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

    _The next day…_

    After a grueling six hours of exercises that was nothing short of torture, Kyra found herself in the cafeteria, sipping listlessly from her cup of plain water.

    Every now and then , she would sneak a glance at a certain table, then go back to sipping her water again.

     "That's all you're having for lunch? A glass of H2O????" Seifer's _glorious voice boomed above her head, startling the living daylights out of her._

     "_NEXT TIME, GIVE A WARNING BEFORE YOU TURN ON THE FRIGGIN' SUBWOOFER SYSTEM!! YOU BRAYING DONKEY_!!!" She shouted at him.

     "Who's turning on the subwoofer system now?" He jeered.

    She glanced red-faced around her at the staring crowd, and turned back to her glass of water, a picture of self-pity at its worse.

     "Aww.. Lil Miss Piggy's sad that no one's having lunch with her?"

     "Shut the hell up."

    _They could have at least invited me out of courtesy! _ 

    She stared wistfully at the group of four seated diagonally across from her.

     "Fat hope." Seifer said with a sneer. "That they'll let you join them.

      Theirs is an exclusive and elitist group. Even a great person such as myself…" He stopped short when his gaze fell on a certain golden-haired girl.

     "Even you _what?" Kyra rolled her eyes, and rested her chin on the table with a bored sigh._

     "Nothing."

     "Yeah. _Nothing_." She cackled, then stopped abruptly when she spotted a certain spiky-haired boy, resting her chin even flatter against the table until it was almost lying fully on it while still staring at him.

    She remained in that position for a full five minutes, oblivious to the chomping and swallowing sounds of Seifer wolfing down his burger beside her.

     "Hello. Cotta to Lil Miss Piggy!" He snapped his fingers beside her face when he happened to glance at Kyra, and found her all spaced out.

     "Huh…? Wha…?"

     "Who're you looking at?"

     "Nobody…"

     "Really? I could've sworn it was Chicken-wuss' name you whispered just now." 

     "I DID? Damn!"

     "Gotcha. You didn't actually say anything. It was an educated guess on my part."

     "WHY YOU!"

     "Nothing escapes my eagle eyes." He smirked, gesturing at his eyes with two fingers. "Speak. What's wrong?"

    Strangely, she yielded to his command, although she had known him all of forty-eight hours.

    _I suppose inter-dimensional travel had eroded my trust value system._

     "I… I called him Chicken-wuss… in front of Kimmie." She mumbled. "Unintentionally, of course. I didn't know he was there."

     "Hahahahaha! You did eh?" He let out roar after roar of raucous laughter, attracting attention from many of the other SeeDs and Cadets mingling in the cafeteria, including that exclusive table of four that was the object of their attention.

     "Tell you what. I DARE you to apologize to him right here, right now, and I'll cut your morning training session from by half an hour." He smirked, knowing that she didn't have the guts to do it.

     "Half-an-hour?" Her mouth started to salivate.

     "And maybe I'll tell you what that 'Nothing' was." He added, still certain that she would never muster enough courage from his short-spanned, yet thorough observation (or so he thought) of this new student of his. "Forget it. You can't, cos you're as chicken as him."

   That did it.

    Kyra could not stand it when anyone told her she couldn't do something.

    She stood up abruptly, almost toppling the chair over in her haste.

    Seifer looked up at her in surprise.

    She stalked over to the table where Quistis, Selphie, Zell and Irvine sat at, and slammed her palms onto the small space in front of Zell that was not occupied by plates of stuff.

     "Listen. I'm SORRY for what I said. I didn't mean a word of it.

      I was only trying to convince Kimmie that I wasn't interested in you, but couldn't find a good enough reason. So there."

    She stood with her arms crossed at her chest, waiting for his response.

     "W…well… alright then." Zell was taken aback by the suddenness of her apology. "So… I'm not your favorite anymore?" He asked hopefully.

     "You still are, sweetie!" She smiled prettily at him, patting his cheek affectionately. "But that doesn't mean I like you in that kind of way."

    With that, she strutted back to her table, a picture of calm and poise.

    _You were shaking inside, weren't you?_

_    Why dwell on something we both know?_

     "So… how did I do?" She cocked her head at Seifer, enjoying the wide-eyed, eyebrow-raised-to-the-skies look on him.

    _It suits him. Mmmph!_

     "Y…you…" He stuttered, never in his wildest dreams imagining that she would be so daring.

     "So now, not only do you have to shorten the morning training session; you have to tell me your secret as well!" She chortled loudly. "Small price to pay for a little display of thick skin."

    He was silent. Angry, even. He never liked losing, even if it was a little bet like this. All the more so when it indicated a flaw in his perception of other people's behavioral patterns.

    Kyra smiled and blinked innocently at him.

    _Sweet, sweet revenge!_

_     That'll teach you for calling me Lil Miss Piggy!_

     "Okay, you don't need to say anything. Just admit this. YOU. LIKE. INSTRUCTOR. TREPE. Right? Right."

    Seifer grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the cafeteria into an isolated corner.

     "_LET ME WARN YOU…. YOU FRIGGIN' PIECE OF PORK!  IF YOU SPOUT MORE OF THAT RUBBISH, I SHALL PERSONALLY CUT OFF YOUR TONGUE AND FEED IT TO THE T-REXS IN THE TRAINING CENTER. ARE WE UNDERSTOOD_?"__

     "Don't worry, buddy. I'll teach you the way to a girl's heart."

     _"DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT I SAID?"_

     "Don't give up even before you try." She patted him on the arm.

     "SHUT THE FVCK UP!"

     "Good luck, my man. HAHAHAHAHA!"

     "TIME'S UP! LUNCH IS OVER!"  He growled, leaving her behind as he stalked off. "C'mon… Magic's up next."

    By then, Kyra was too busy bending over with laughter to answer him.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

    Meanwhile, back at the table of the famous four…

     "She has ARM MUSCLES!" Zell exclaimed enthusiastically.

     "Those are called biceps, Zell." Quistis corrected him, trying hard not to laugh. Zell had apparently banished their earlier exchange from his mind the moment she presented him with a plate of his favorite hotdogs.

     "Well, she has them!"

*        *        *        *        *        *        *        *

    That was one long-assed chapter! LMAO!

    And I know. Maybe you're screaming at me for letting Kyra's ball hit Seifer. But you have to understand. I think he would have to respect the student to some degree in order for him to treat his tutelage seriously. And I can think of no other way. Sorry if you're offended in any way by it.


	6. Chapter 6 Sweat and Tears

Chapter 6 – Sweat and tears

    Zell got onto his feet with much difficulty, his limbs all numb from sitting for such long hours on the ground – truly a feat for him considering his usual aversion to staying still at a place for more than five minutes. Looking at his watch, he realized that he had stayed in the Secret Area for more than three hours, and that dawn would soon lend its color to the inky sky.

    With a slightly stumbled walk due to his still numb legs, he made his way out of the Secret Area into the main grounds of the Training Centre.

     "Good Morning, Mr. Dintch." A gravelly voice greeted him. Zell squinted at the direction it sounded, for the lights had reflected harshly off the person, making it difficult for Zell to recognize him.

     "Oh, morning, Uncle Bill. Zell, please." A peculiar smell wafted into Zell's nose as he neared the Garden caretaker. He recognized it as the beast repellant that "Uncle Bill" wore as he cleaned the grounds. "You're early today."

     "Nah… I've been coming in early for a week now. Some newbie training here during ungodly hours… leaving a huge mess for me to clean. You know me, Mr…. Zell. I always clean 'em up at midnight, but it gets littered with 'em beast remains when I come in and do my routine checks at six. So now I have to come in at five to clean them." Uncle Bill grumbled incessantly to Zell, who tried to keep an interested face.

     "Tough, Uncle Bill. I'll keep a look out for you and persuade the newbie to train during normal hours."

     "Thank you, Mr. Zell." The old geezer gave him a yellow-toothed grin.

     "Anytime. See ya." Zell returned his grin, walking past him towards the entrance, remembering that he did hear certain sounds while he was rooting himself in the Secret Area, but paid little attention to them.

    _I wonder who it was…_

*        *        *        *        *        *        *

     "Concentrate, you dumbass!" Seifer tapped the hilt of his Hyperion roughly at Kyra's left shoulder. She winced as it hit her, glaring at him in protest.

     "Try to imagine pushing an invisible force towards the target!"

     "Ugh…" She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, trying to find the "invisible force" he was talking about.

     "There's something conflicting with it!" She protested, shaking her strained hand and fingers to ease the pain and stiffness, a direct consequence of her failed attempts at casting magic spells.

     "What?"

     "Hold on, Shiva is trying to tell me."

    _I sense a resisting force._ Her borrowed GF, Shiva intoned within her mind. _A rather strong one._

_    A being is already residing in here. There is not enough space for two._

    _Ramius? She called out to her muse, who had been unusually quiet of late. She had been unable to put a finger on it, but there seemed to be something… _different_ about him. Responding only when she addressed him, as though his mind was distracted elsewhere._

    But even so, his tone was still as patronizing as ever.

    _Yes, my dear girl? _

    _Get out of there and let Shiva in._

_    Why should I listen to…_

_   Because this is MY body. I get to decide who stays and leaves it! And it's not like you're doing anything useful in here either!_

_    As you wish, Miss Independence. _He snorted, his words dripping with sarcasm. _But don't come running to me when you need help._

    As he drifted away from her, he passed by Shiva, who glided further in to fill up the space he had vacated.

    _Farewell, Messenger. Shiva sneered at him with a cold smile    _

    _You won't see the last of me yet!  He retorted contemptuously, then stood before Kyra, staring unflinchingly at her._

    She saw something she could not quite put a name to in his stare, but she knew what was that little something stabbing at her gut – guilt. She quickly brushed it away, and turned to Seifer.

    "Let me try again." She said, closing her eyes to concentrate.

    "Fire!" She yelled, imagining the orangey elemental force channeling through her acupoints (or so she called them) and flushing out towards her outstretched palm. Diagonally across her, a pile of logs crackled, and a burst of flames shot out from within, licking at the logs and creating a thin wispy line of smoke as the wood turned to ashes before the minute had passed.

    _Thank goodness for meditation practice. She smirked smugly at Seifer.___

     "See, told you to concentrate! Wasted so much time on a simple spell like Fire!" Seifer frowned at her, not letting on that he was rather pleased with the progress she had made. His was a mouth that refused to dole out praise no matter how much the situation called for it.

    Kyra's smirk disappeared.

     "What? No word of encouragement? This is my first spell! You could have at least said 'Nice try' or 'Well done', but nooooo, you had to blame me for wasting time! Why, afraid that the decency would burn your filth spewing mouth?"

    He pointedly ignored her statement.

     "So next, you can practice your Blizzard casting skills by putting out that Fire."

    Kyra looked at him disbelievingly, then at the pile of blazing logs.

     "Go on! We haven't got all day!"

    She felt like letting out a groan that would reach the very ends of  Cotta and beyond, but course, that would mean that she had supernatural powers, which she didn't.

    So she settled for a whine-whimper instead, since her motto had always been "If you can't do it good, don't do it at all."

     "Stop whining like some infant. You're a Garden Cadet for fvck's sake! Conduct yourself like one."

    Reluctantly, she assumed her spell casting stance again, pushing out her arm with her palm facing the pile of logs.

    Her face turned sour when she suddenly remembered something.

    _I hated meditation…_

*        *        *        *        *        *        *

     Time flies – but with a ton of lead in its wings. At least that was the case for Kyra .

     And Kyra wished she could, especially at the end of each day, when she wished she could fly home, to Earth, away from the dreaded programme she had to follow every single day. But she also recognized the irony that the programme was also her fastest ticket home.

    And so she toiled on with a gritty perseverance, if only because she had no other choice.

    ~One and a half week later~

    Kyra stepped out of the shower, then stopped in front of the full length mirror that hung on one of the walls. It was her daily morning ritual ever since she came to Cotta, to this Garden. And she did not cringe as she did when she first made it a habit.

    She stopped looking at herself in the buff in the mirror ever since her body started bloating up after she neglected it terribly. Junk food, late dinners and of course, an exercise regime that consisted of typing on the keyboard at work and going to the pantry for her daily caffeine fix all contributed to its steady decline. The only part not bloated were her arms - she had her former volleyball coach to thank for that. Apparently the muscles there were really stubborn or she was simply blessed with fat-cell-intolerant arms.

    But now,  she had regained her former svelte self, and then some.

    _Yes, not an ounce of fat anywhere! I never want to go back to Lil-Miss-Piggy-age again! Muahahahahaha._

    She would have stood there indulging in her narcissistic preening if not for the alarm clock blaring its bells off in the dorm.

      "I'm late!!" She wrapped a towel around herself, stumbled and tripped along her way from the bathroom to her room. And of course she made a whole ruckus in the process of dragging herself there.

      "WHAT is that racket you're making? Please note that it is merely FIVE IN THE MORNING???? And turn the alarm off!!"

   She peered up at Kimmie, who stood with her arms akimbo and a face that would have registered a PH level of 0 on the acidic scale.

    "If you will kindly step away and not block my way, I will get up now and turn it off as you have wished." Scrambling up on her feet, she lightly pushed Kimmie away while she stepped into the room.

     "I don't know how you do it… I can't imagine getting up at five in the morning for training. Seifer's crazy. YOU'RE crazy. And I need sleep…" Kimmie mumbled and yawned her way back to her own room.

     "I try…" Kyra said to the air in her room. "Believe me, I try."

*        *        *        *        *        *        *

     "FIRA!!!" Kyra yelled, blasting the spell towards the Grat before her.

    The beast let out a piercing yowl amidst the scathing tongues of its flames.

     "Sucker punch ball!" She launched her Lyrith Ball at the Grat, her serves and hits bouncing and slamming against the Grat with speed that the human naked eye could hardly register. The ball flew at it relentlessly for multiple times before it could recover from the previous blow.

     "Blizzara!" She yelled again, and instantaneously, a block of ice surrounded the creature, encasing it in a frigid cell that reflected its ugly face with its crystal-clear surface. The Grat put up an admirable struggle, but howled piteously when it spied its own reflection in the icy mirror.

    Impatient for the split-second before the ice did its work, Kyra speeded up its process by snapping her fingers crisply.

    Spurred by her catalyst, the ice shattered into glittery dust, several of the sharp particles lodging themselves onto the Grat's hide and stabbing at its flesh.

    With a  surrendering cry, the creature flopped to the ground, still as the poo it had excreted during the battle due to its intensive fear during the last minutes of the short-lived battle.

     "Yesssssss!!!!!" Kyra flipped her ball skyward in triumph, performing one of her less flamboyant victory dances.

    The ball descended onto the ground and bounced about aimlessly, gathering a coating of dust as it rolled about on the sandy ground.

    Kyra's hand was not there to catch it. It was lying limply on the ground, beside her similarly immobile body that laid in a prone position on the ground. The ball came to an abrupt stop when it bumped against her side.

    Seifer raised an eyebrow when he saw her lose equilibrium and fall with a loud thud. Crouching beside her, he saw that her eyes were closed, the color of her skin resembling wet paper. "Piggy, wake up."

    She did not respond.

     "Piggy, you know perfectly well I won't fall for this kind of trick! Get up now or I'll increase your training hours!"

    No matter how he threatened or taunted her, even slapping her on the face, she did not stir, as if no longer breathing.

    He placed a finger under her nose, forcing his hand to remain steady. He let out a breath of stale air, held unconsciously it at the back of his throat. He was finally assured  by the faint and irregular rhythm of air blowing from her nose onto his finger.

    He lifted her easily up in his arms, and walked briskly out of the Training Center.

    "Move out of the way!" He roared at the crowd blocking the hallways and corridors on his way to the Infirmary. The throng of after-class crowd parted automatically to make way for him, rejoining again when he passed them to exchange whispers and stares.

     "Dr. Kadowaki!" He called out when he reached the Infirmary, without sparing a single thought for the discomfort his loud voice would be giving any of the patients resting inside.

     "What _is_ the matter? You know very well I will not condone shout…" Dr. Kadowaki spoke in a tone that although low in volume, did nothing to mask the disapproval in it. She stopped short when she saw the unconscious girl in his arms. "…what happened to her?"

     "I don't know."

     "Put her on the examination bed." She ordered. "Gently." She added, knowing that Seifer was not exactly the most ideal person for handling injured people.

    She plugged the ends of her stethoscope into her ears, and was about to examine Kyra when she noticed that Seifer was still hovering around.

     "Could you kindly wait outside? It is not proper for males to be around when I'm examining her. You should know that very well by now, Mr. Almasy!"

    He stepped out the Infirmary reluctantly.

    At the very moment his shiny boot stepped out of the door, he came face to face with Quistis.

     "Why are you here?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sick?"

    He shook his head. He knew that if he lied now, he would get into even bigger trouble later. Not that he was afraid of getting into trouble. It was like an old friend and enemy, staying with him like the way the scent of blood would cling onto his Hyperion.

    But he also knew that his reservoir of  "chances" was running dry fast.

     "Pig…" He paused, correcting himself. "Kyra."

    She threw a narrowed glance at him.

      "I'm going in."

    _Sh*t!_ He cursed his bad luck. _Why did she have to come along at this particular minute!_

     A few minutes later, the door opened again to reveal Quistis and her stony face. Unsurprisingly, she did not have any kind words for him. Not at all.

     "She's awake." She turned sharply on her heel, and he followed, knowing she was commanding him to do so even without a single word from her.

    When he stepped into the infirmary, Kyra was sitting up on one of the sick beds, her face still as bloodless as it was when he brought her in.

     "What's wrong with her, Dr. Kadowaki?" Quistis asked.

     "Burnout, plain and simple. She'll be fine after a few day's rest."  
     "Burnout?" Quistis turned on Seifer accusingly. "How did this happen? You'd better have a good explanation for this!"

    Seifer did not offer any. He was sure that they would not do any good for his situation anyway, and decided the best cause of action had to be silence. 

     "It wasn't his fault, Instructor Trepe." Kyra quickly said. "I haven't been sleeping well. New-bed-insomnia Sydrome, hehehe." Her laugh was as weak as herself.

     "Why are you defending him, Kyra?" Quistis asked in perplexity. "I don't believe he has nothing to do with your burnout!"

     "Why?"

     "In one and a half weeks, you have lost… what? Eight kilograms? Too drastic a drop to be healthy!"

     "Maybe I had a really effective diet and exercise plan?" Kyra offered with an unsteady smile, lowering her head when she met the piercing eyes of the Instructor.

     "This is no time to be joking!" Quistis strode towards Seifer. "Seifer, when I said you can train her, I thought you would have enough _brains_ to plan a proper schedule! But you have failed to do so.

       I am utterly disappointed in you. From tomorrow onwards, it's back to attending lectures and tutuorials. Both of you."

    She stalked out of the Infirmary, her footsteps noticeably louder than the discrete ones she usually made.

     "I'm sorry." Kyra said in a small voice. "I got you in trouble."

    She looked up earnestly at him, trying to convey that she really meant it, and found him to be staring at the door.

    He was still staring after Quistis, she could see that.

     "Get some rest." He said quietly, and left.

    _That's it? "Get some rest?" No jeer, no smarty jackass retort, no barbed  insults? Hell, not even a lil Miss Piggy? He doesn't look right to me. Oh well, not that it's any of my business._

    She swung her feet to rest onto the floor, apparently trying to get up from the bed. Ignoring the spinning of her head, she placed one foot in front of the other on the cold linoleum, concentrating all her energy onto her feet.

    Her vision swam, and the floor rushed up to meet her eyes.

     "What are you trying to do? Get back to bed!" Dr. Kadowaki rushed forward to catch her before her Chinese features became even flatter by falling on her face. "You're still very weak. You need lots of rest, and I won't have you running around!"

     "But I'm fine! Really!" Kyra protested. "My legs are a little wobbly, that's all. Please, Dr.?" She assumed the most pleading expression she could muster.

    However, this did not deter the veteran doctor from leading her firmly, but gently to the bunk again.

     "That's what they all say, even the kids who come in diagnosed with shock caused by excessive bleeding."

     "Doctor K, can I have a few bandages? My old wrist problem is… WHOA! What are you doing here?" Kyra heard a familiar voice ring out in the room.

    Zell.

    She turned away immediately, unwilling to let him see her fatigued face.

     "Sleeping…" She muttered into the wall.

   _Weird girl._ He scrunched his nose at her turned back.

     "What's wrong with her, Dr. K?"

     "She's suffering from SEVERE burnout. Zell, be a dear and guard her for me. I need to get some supplies from the storage room." She gestured at a medical cabinet. "Make sure she doesn't slip out, or I'll hold you responsible."

     "What? Wait a sec.. Dr. K!" Before he could finish protesting,  she was already gone.

     "Oh well." He scratched his head, at a loss if he should do as the good doctor had ordered.

     "Great. The meddlesome doctor is gone." Kyra was out of the bed in no time, tottering unsteadily towards the exit of the Infirmary.

     "Hey! Get back in there! Are you trying to get me in trouble?" Zell chided her.  "Besides, you're not supposed to be walking around!" He tried to pull her back.

    A tingling sensation seemed to travel from the tip of their fingers when he touched her hand, followed by a quickening of her pulse and a heart that beat too erratically for her own liking.

     "I'm fine." She repeated, half trying to convince him, and half to convince herself. "I have to do more training!" She cried, trying to hide the blush creeping up her face, extending across her face to the tips of her ears like the spreading of red ink on Chinese paint paper.

     "Train more? But you can hardly walk!" His grip on her hand tightened. "And your face is flushed with fever!"

     "No!" She attempted to shake his hand off, and actually succeeded.

    She headed for the exit with a swaying gait, her sense of balance had been seriously impaired by her light-headedness.

    She let out a loud yelp when her vision suddenly shifted towards the ceiling, instead of the door of the infirmary a second ago. 

    Zell had lifted her off the ground, for he had realized that she would not listen to him no matter how hard he would try to persuade her. And he was not really one to think through his actions.

     "You will not leave as long as I'm still here!" Zell said grimly, his mouth set at the ends. He delivered her to the bunk and set her down slowly. "You're much lighter than the first time I carried you…" A similar flush soon started creeping up his cheeks.

     "Carried me?" Her eyes bulged like ping-pong balls.

     "Never mind." He turned his head away, seemingly embarrassed.

    Kyra was almost certain there was an intangible, tingling sensation in the air, but could not quite grasp its nature.

     "Oooh, I heard Kyra's sick!" A cloying voice floated across the room, chasing that sensation away as abruptly as it had appeared.

    Zell turned swiftly. His head immediately bowed down when he met the other girl's eyes.

     "Zell!"

     "Look after her." He brushed past her and left.

    The two remaining girls in the infirmary stared after him.

     "Kyra!" The pigtailed one whipped around, her glare seeming to spout poisonous fumes and fire.

     "Did I not tell you to stay away from _MY Zell?"_

     "I didn't know he'd be here!" _And it doesn't look as if he thinks he's yours._

     "I don't friggin' care! NEVER let me catch you in the same breathing space with him again, or you'll regret it. Am I understood?" She punctuated her last sentence with threat, making it plain that she would not hesitate to carry it out if Kyra decided to go against her will.

     "Fine. Leave me alone." Kyra turned to face the wall again, trying fervently to stop the single tear in its crooked escape down her cheek.

   For a long time, her much needed rest refused to come. She still remembered the touch of his skin against hers, in that fleeting moment where his fingers pulled at hers. Or the weird air that filled the room just before it was destroyed by Kyra's entrance.

    And she could not forget, most of all, that she still liked him very much.

*        *        *        *        *        *        *

    Ramius frowned in deep thought. It occurred to him that what had just happened in the room was very strange indeed. He knew for a fact that Zell's old wrist injury had been dormant for a few years now. There was really no plausible reason why it had chosen to act up at that very day, that very time. And he also knew that Dr. Kadowaki's cabinets were not empty at all.

    As if to confirm his suspicions, he spied Dr. Kadowaki walking out of the Infirmary with a box full of medical supplies, muttering to herself.

     "Hmmm… I stocked up the cabinet yesterday. How could I have forgotten so soon?" She shook her head, and attributed it to memory loss due to the effects of age on brain cells.

    Ramius rubbed his chin.

    _Hyne_ must be up to something again.__

  *        *        *        *        *        *        *

A/N: And indeedy she is. Sorry, my good reviewers. I won't be thanking you individually in this chapter cos I'm kinda tired. Like my legs are numb from sitting in front of the monitor for too long. It's ungrateful of me, yeah, so I'm asking for your forgiveness beforehand. BUT… I would like to emphasize that you lot are fabulously cool people. THANKS FOR YOUR REVIEWS!!!! I'll try to update sooner too. *bows in reverence* Umm…. Yeah. That's all for now. Have a nice weekend!

Live today like it's your last.

Tulip.


	7. Chapter 7 What in hell was that?

**Chapter 7 – What in hell was that?**

    A/N: I know that I haven't been nearly as diligent in updating my story as I should be. Massive apologies to anyone who was waiting for an update. You know how the little "buts" in life add up… "But I have to catch my sleep" or "But I can't think of anything" or even "But I have to scratch my nose"…. Etc etc.  And for now, I have successfully battled the but away hahahaha. Alright let's get on with the story.

* * *

_What is it that you hide_

_Beneath that smile of yours_

_A barely healing heart_

_Pain behind a feigned brightness_

_Whatever it is_

_I'm melting under it_

_Like the vanilla ice-cream girl_

_Under the rays of the sunshine boy…..._

=====================================================

    There was a sharp knock on her office door.

    Quistis, in the midst of drinking and inhaling the sleep-warding properties of cafeteria vending-machine coffee, was understandably unable to respond immediately. It only prompted yet more knocks, this time in quick and impatient succession.

     "Come in!" Quistis managed to call out after forcing the burning mouthful down her throat, pressing a button on her desk to deactivate her lock.

    When the metal door slid open, she recognized the tall, shortly-cropped head of her most headache-inducing student walking into the room.

    Seifer headed straight for her desk, pivoting on his heel sharply so that he was facing her directly.

     "Cadet Almasy at your service." He said tonelessly.

     "Seifer, you do understand I have little choice in my decision to revoke your tutorship of Kyra." She peered up at him over the top of her glasses, trying to read his expression. However, his face was as bland as his tone. She would have had more success trying to read a rock.

     "Maybe I do. Maybe I don't." He lowered his head, avoiding her gaze.

     "What kind of answer is that?" Quistis glared at him, expecting a barbed comeback of some kind. Instead he remained silent, studying his boots as if they were nothing short of fascinating.

    She let out a long sigh.

     "Alright. I'm giving both of you another chance. If she passes the test, I concede that your so-called schedule was effective, if a little extreme. I don't want to be mistakenly perceived as unreasonable, although Hyne knows the number of chances I've given you is more than anyone can boast of!" Quistis shot a look at Seifer, a little vexed by his unresponsiveness. "So?"

     "If you say so, Instructor Trepe." Seifer finally looked up from his boot-study, flashing a small smirk at her. "When's the test date?"

     "Three days from now. Eight hundred hours _sharp_. I will deduct points for tardiness, as you should know very well."

    "She'll be fully prepared for it." He declared confidently as he strode towards the door. By then, his smirk had blossomed into the full-blown affair he usually sported. "See you then, Instructor Trepe."

    The door closed. Quistis was left puzzling over his strange behavior, and then it hit her.

     "I've been taken for a ride!"

   =====================================================

    Seifer walked into the room and past the surprised Kimmie, who had opened the door to his thunderous and door-shaking knocks. He did not even try to conceal the chuckle rumbling at the back of his throat, then burst out into uncontrollable guffaws.

     "What's so funny? And why are you in our dorm?" Kyra scrunched her face at him, questioning the stability of his mental state.

     "I was simply marveling at the effectiveness of the silent protest. Muahaahahha." He guffawed again, ignoring Kyra's disapproving frown.

     "Why are you here again?'

     "Piggy, you have three more days before the test. Instructor Trepe has allowed us to continue the tutorship program."

     "Three…? But…"

     "No buts. What I've taught you so far is more than adequate to handle the SeeD Exam, let alone some puny little test. Just as long as you didn't forget any of it. And don't you pull another fainting act on me. I will not suffer being punished just because someone can't take care of herself." He growled at her.

     "Of all the jerkiest bastards…!" Kyra swore and threw her pillow at him. "Get out of here! You're disrupting my rest!"

      "Training resumes tomorrow! Six hundred hours sharp!" He called out as he walked out again.

      "And I'm no longer a Piggy!" Kyra shouted after him.     

      "Three days!" She moaned into her other, un-thrown pillow. "How will I ever be ready in three days!"

     "What? He expects you to train as usual? But you've barely recovered!" Kimmie shook her head pityingly at Kyra. 

    Kyra gazed intently at her. There was something plastic about Kimmie's actions, in her words.  Kyra was almost ready to bet her Lyrith that Kimmie was gloating about her plight inside. But then again, it might be her neurotic tendencies at fault.

    Shaking her head, she continued.

      "That's not the problem! The problem is how am I supposed to be prepared in three days! Argh!" She clutched at her hair. "Seifer's right. I have to start training again."

      "I'm terribly curious. What's your schedule like?"

    Kyra flipped a piece of paper at her.

    Kimmie's eyes widened upon reading the schedule.

     "Hyne, he's a regular slave-driver!"

     "Ain't that the truth. So now you know I have neither the time nor energy to be 'pining' after Zell. Stop pointing your stupid accusations at me!" Kyra scowled at her.

     "This doesn't prove a single thing! I don't care what your excuses are, but I won't tolerate another girl near him! And that's that!" She turned her back towards Kyra, apparently intending to return to her room.

      "But I thought you're no longer together?"

    _And what gives you the right to stop anyone from getting close to him?_

    Kimmie whipped her head around.

     "Even so! I will cling to him, persuade him, pester him! I will stop at nothing... until he comes back to me!" Her eyes flashed for an instant, then softened again, along with her tone. 

     "And he will… I'm sure he will." She whispered, more to herself than Kyra.

    Kyra searched her face. And the realization that had been long past its due dawned on her. 

     "You still love him." She said quietly, still staring at Kimmie.

    The stiffening of the other girl's shoulders only confirmed the truth of her statement..

    "Anyone with a functioning brain can see that." She shifted her gaze to a far corner of the room, avoiding Kyra's stare. "Everyone… but him. They all see it. And I know they're all laughing secretly at me each time he spurns me." She started laughing, only the hollowness in her laugh was glaringly obvious.

    Kyra didn't know what she should do. To comfort her? This hurting girl in front of her? But maybe she didn't want to. Maybe it would be more gratifying to leave her alone, or laugh at her like those other people.

    Only… she could not pretend not to know the taste of rejection, and what it could do to a person. 

    "Why did he break up with you?"

    Kimmie's head jerked up at her question.

     "He said I didn't love him enough." She cracked a tiny, bitter smile. "Imagine that. _I_ didn't _love him_ enough.

       If he could only see this now." She started that hollow laugh again, this time bringing a hand up to cover her eyes as she did, trying to hide them behind her fingers.

     "And I suppose you must be gloating all over me now! Laughing at me like the rest of them! That I'm nothing but his ex-girlfriend! That he didn't want me, that he dumped me, that he— "

     "What he thinks of you, and what he did to you is none of my concern."

     "I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Kimmie yelled, grabbing her arm and exerting strength on it. "Prove it then. Prove that you don't like him. " She stopped suddenly, her face twitching strangely before she shook her head vigorously, as if trying to get something out of her ear.

     "Tell the whole Garden he means nothing to you—"

     "Look, it's none of my concern whether or not you believe me!" She brushed her off. "And don't think you can push me around just because I don't push back. I have my limits." She growled, shoving the pigtailed girl lightly on the shoulder.

     "Right now, all that I'm concerned with is getting out of this full-of-shit place!"

    She grabbed her ball, and stormed out of the room before Kimmie could react.

    Truth be told, she didn't reply to Kimmie's dare to prove that she didn't like Zell.

    Simply because she wasn't sure if she could keep up her pretense any further.

    The touch of his hand still burned the skin on her fingers. His voice still etched and reverberating in her every brain-cell, even the memory of feeling his breath converging with her own, disrupting the utilitarian stillness of the infirmary, it was too clear to her even now, one day after their chance encounter in there.

    She was too aware of the aching in her chest. One that she tried to ignore and cover up. Hell if she was going to let anyone find out about what really went on inside her.

    All this, in fear that Zell might know of her feelings for him.

    _Alright, I'll admit it. I'm a coward when it comes to him. He barely talks to me now! How will he treat me if he knew I liked him? _

     "HAI!!!!" She shouted tirelessly, hitting her ball savagely against the beast. A pair of unlucky Grats had bravely chosen to confront her the moment she stepped into the Training Centre, despite the "bad mood" warning signals that was emitting from her in droves.

    She knew it was against Garden Rules for a Cadet to train alone in the Training Centre. But breaking this particular one was nothing new to her. 

    She had been extremely lucky not to get caught by the Disciplinary Committee yet, mainly due to her preference for training during early hours of the morning. It had become something of a ritual for her, to pit her skills against the Grats, then hopping over to the Stadium for the commencement of each daily training session with Seifer.

    The danger of being sent to Lala Hyne land if she should happen encounter a T-Rex was never far from her mind. So she had been careful to stay close to the exit in ensuring a swift escape should a T-Rex come charging at her. It had worked so far.

     "GO TO HELL!!!!" She flung another blow that smashed the head of one of the Grats into a mangled mess of blood and splattered brain.

    It was rather therapeutic, to destroy these beasts. She needed the violence. It helped her release all the stress locked up inside. If she didn't she'd sooner become a schizophrenic and go on a human-murdering spree, which was a much, much worse sin than killing beasts.

    Her state of semi-isolation was driving her to the brink of the line separating her from insanity, coupled with the intense pressure to perform, from herself, from Seifer, and of course, those frequent insults from the taskmaster himself did nothing to ease her mind. Kimmie's constant threats, those strange looks given by the other Cadets due to the "special treatment" given by Instructor Trepe.

    What plagued her the most, though, was the aloofness that Sunshine Boy Zell would show to no one but her.

    It was quite enough.

     "DIE YOU BASTARDS!!!" The ball slammed into the other Grat. It fell down beside its companion, protesting its end with a lingering howl.

    Kyra flicked her bangs away from her eyes, wiping her sweaty brow with the back of her hand.

    She felt strangely dissatisfied this time.

    A guttural growl sounded behind her, striking a cold fear in her chest.

    It sounded dangerous… it sounded furious, provoked.

    Most importantly, it sounded like a T-rex.

    Through the corner of her eye, she found that she had wandered deeper into the Training Centre without knowing it.

    She wheeled around, and true to her suspicions, the huge dino-like creature was staring menacingly at her as if it had been starving for days and she was a big fat moving piece of food staring back at it with widened eyes.

    She tried to make a dash for it, but the T-Rex seemed to anticipate her move, shifting to its left to block her way.

    It turned around, swinging its tail and aimed it towards where Kyra stood.

    She ducked and rolled onto the ground, managing to escape the swing. As she sprung up agilely to continue her sprint towards the exit, the tip of the hard-scaled tail lurched upwards, slapping right into her face.

    Kyra shook her head vigorously, attempting to clear it of the swimming stars and dancing cactaurs.

     "Shit!" She swore. But before she could regain her bearings, the T-Rex swung around again, the massive tail smashing full into her body and sent her hurtling even deeper into the foliage.

    Kyra inhaled sharply the second she felt the brutal hit against her ribs, keeping her mouth clamped tightly to force back the scream threatening to burst from her throat.

    She crashed against a rock, its hard, jagged surface jabbing and tearing against her back. Every nerve in her body cried out in a mind-numbing symphony that cascaded in her brain. She laid there in spasms. A warm sensation spread from her back to her shirt, sticking it to her like a second skin.

    She struggled to get up on her feet, every movement slow and careful to prevent further aggravation of her injuries. She was sure her back was bleeding, and a rib broken. She had heard a cracking sound somewhere around that region. A line of red trickled from her forehead, running down the side of her face unheeded.

    Through the red haze covering her vision, she saw the T-Rex advancing towards her again, its jagged jaws opened wide with stinky saliva oozing thickly to the ground.

    _I'm gonna be T-Rex snack!!_

    She backed away from the T-Rex, stopping with a jolt when her back met with the rough trunk of a towering tree.

    Through the curtain of falling leaves, she stared in muted, paralyzed horror at the beast, making its way towards its prey in a deliberate, almost taunting manner.

    Taunting, because it seemed to be grinning at her.

    Looking very much like how Zell, Irvine and Selphie did when she laid sprawled on the ground after failing her IPPT. Or Seifer when he pressed his boot against her thigh in her first horse-stance attempt. Or even like Ramius as he told her she would be their slave until the contract ended.

   Something snapped in her. Followed by an eruption of white hotness, blowing up from the pit of her stomach right up to her temples. It almost blinded her, threatening to consume her alive if she didn't release it soon.

    She started to glow, the milky whiteness surround her flowing and ebbing, flowing and ebbing around her like a pulsating, protective shell, even as she leant breathlessly against the tree, the only thing that kept her from crumpling to the ground in useless exhaustion.

     "YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!!!!" She yelled with vigor suddenly renewed by that eruption, flinging her ball into the air towards the T-Rex, who was momentarily stunted by her battle cry.

    The ball spun madly, emitting a white glow similar to the one around Kyra, and seemed to move higher than it ever did.

    She sprinted to keep up with the high-speed ball, forcing herself to move despite the bone-deep lethargy that bit into her muscles. For an agonizing moment, they resisted fiercely, then as if powered by rocket thrusters, they lifted off the ground and leapt into the air, high enough for her palm to meet with the spinning ball.

    She slammed it towards the T-Rex, pushing the entirety of her remaining strength at the ball. Subconsciously, she merged and directed a flowing, scorching force that was running around in her bloodstream towards the aerial path where the ball had carved out, before slumping against the tree weakly.

   The ball propelled forward, smacking right into the middle of the T-Rex's face. It seemed to _bend inward_ upon meeting with the ball, as some invisible hand appeared to force it in, its features mashed together in plasticine malleability.

   The ball, after grinding for the longest time against its target gave off dazzling flashes of white and red light, the intense friction between its versatile material and the beast's hide setting of several sparks of similar colour.

   _What in effing hell is happening? _ Kyra could only gape at the sight in front of her, for she had never seen anything like this in her ten-odd year history with balls.

    The ball floated back a little, allowing Kyra a final view of the T-Rex's dented face…

     Before ramming forward again, this time tearing into its hide and tissue, tunneling straight into the interior of its skull. It disappeared within the blood mass, and stayed still for a while

    _Using a ball to hit its face one thing, but for it to go **into** the face itself… _She gave a slight shiver.

     Kyra could not believe that a mere ball could have such power. She was certain it came from the mysterious Lyrith, what with its bounce-back abilities and deadly accuracy. It sure as hell did not come from Kyra herself.

    There was a wet, squelching sound.

    The T-Rex's head blew right open, splattering blood, leathery hide and brain matter all over the place. She was not fortunate enough to escape from the minor shower of T-Rex remains, catching a piece of brain on her shoulder. Her face was covered with other bits that she did not have the stomach resistance to identify.

     "Auuuugh!!!" She retched onto the ground and wiped her face with her perspiration-drenched tank-top.

    She managed to scramble away just as the headless monster fell towards the row of trees where she stood, throwing up a minor leaf-cum-dust storm as its huge carcass made contact with the ground.

    She looked at the fallen monster, then at her ball in open-mouthed amazement as it bounced and rolled back to the ground beside her.

     "What the hell are you?" She asked incredulously, bending down and pointing it with a finger.

     "I'm a Lyrith!" A something squeaked.

     "EEEEEEEP!!! IT TALKS!" She screamed.

     _I think I'm getting used to this… _She remembered thinking, before the curtains fell down on her vision again.

=====================================================

     "WHOA MY HOLY HYNE! DID I SEE WHAT I SAW?" Zell exclaimed to nobody in particular (since nobody was there), rooting at his spot when he saw what the ball did to the T-Rex. But he did not stay there for long though.

    Hurrying to where she laid, he crouched onto the ground next to her, nudging her slightly.

     "Miss Kyra Lee. You're a load of trouble, you know that?" He grumbled, then proceeded to carry her, not for the first time, towards Dr. Kadowaki's clinical office.  

=====================================================

    **_She's lying, Kimmie. She's a liar. A bare-faced, bitch-assed liar. LIAR LIAR LIAR LIAR and we don't like LIARS do we?_**

     "Who's that?" Kimmie bolted up from her bed moving her head frantically around. Nothing. just her and her short, heavy gasps for breath.

     _Probably just the wind._

_   **Not the wind. But a voice after your heart. You think so too, don't you? You know she likes Zell. You can feel it in your gut. And it makes you wanna stick her in the chest with knife or beat her up senseless. Admit it. You HATE her.**_

     "Yes. I hate her."

=====================================================

   Wooooo *cheers* That was chapter 7. Hope you liked it. I sure slogged over it though.

   My profuse thanks to the following in no order of importance or preference:

    Quizer: Well, I think I've been treating her quite well, thank you very much. Her favorite carried her thrice, for Hyne's sake. What more could anyone ask? But anyway, thanks for your suggestion and your review. For the first time I see people telling the author to be better to the Mary Sue *cackles*

    Malithia: Darn, you mean it was that obvious? Er-hmmm I mean if I tell you I'd have to kill you. Joke. Whatever becomes of Kyra and Seifer, they'll always be squabbling. It ain't fun without that.

    Legendary Super Candyce: Thanks for reviewing every single chapter. That's so…. gushable of you! Fate (or rather Hyne) may be trying to bring them together, but there's still me and Blackie over there to obstruct them *insane cackle*

    Dragon Princess Rinoa: Thanks for liking my story! And yep, she has biceps hahahaahhaa. And that reminds me… Rinny hasn't appeared in the story yet has she? *horns protruding*

    C: I appreciate any kind of review, even those that say I suck as long as it's constructive criticism. And of course yours didn't; far from it. ^__^ It was very encouraging! XD XD

And that goes for any of you who reviewed. Keep 'em coming, and perhaps it'll keep those buts away!! 


	8. Chapter 8 Insomniacs United ps Swearing ...

**Chapter 8 Insomniacs United**

_ You stole your way_

_To where my heart lay_

_Cast your spell on me_

_Impossible to break free_

_Enshrouding me_

_ In its mist_

_Entangling me_

_In its chains_

_My soul belongs to you_

_If you should stake your claim_

_ For you _

_And only you _

_Can ever hold_

_The Title deed of my heart._

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     "Hyne…you sure Zell?"

     "… Yeah. She… T-Rex… by herself!"

     "Who… have thought… that kind… brute force!"

     "Fucking Amazing! Friggin' Hyne! I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw it!"

    Kyra forced up her eyelids, then fluttered them close again as white light attacked her pupils harshly. The hum of voices hovering above and around her gradually raised in volume and clarity.

     "Keep it down, Zell. It's one thirty in the morning."

     "Must've been the Lyrith. I'm willing to bet on it!"

     "What happened?" Kyra croaked weakly. Up till a few moments ago, her eyes were blinded, her hearing was blocked, and the only thing she could remember was bashing a T-Rex in with her ball… and… and…

    She couldn't remember what else happened, or maybe she was unconsciously blocking it out. But right now, the most prominent sensation she could feel was the dull pain spread throughout her body.

    Then she recognized the oh-so-familiar, medicinal smell wafting about.

    She must've been in the infirmary, again.

     "You blacked out again." Zell's face was the first one that popped up in her vision.

     "I did?" She swiveled her gaze blankly at the ceiling to steady her swimming vision, then back at him.

     "Damn well you did. Is this some sick habit of yours?" His face appeared half-serious; she didn't know whether he was trying to crack a joke or scolding her. "Dr. Kadowaki said your injuries weren't too serious, just a banged-up rib and some lacerations on your back. You're very lucky to have escaped with just that."

     "Kyra! What were you doing in the Training Centre alone, and at this hour? Do you know that you're breaking two of Garden's Rules at the same time in this reckless training session of yours? I have a mind to report you to the D.C. if you carrying on being so stubborn! Don't forget you've only just recovered from your burnout! You're supposed to be resting, not throwing your guts at the beasts of the Training Centre!"

    "Instructor Trepe, gimme a break…" Kyra mumbled, keeping her voice a low monotone to prevent Quistis from catching on to her words. Or at least, she had hoped so.

    Quistis shifted her vexed glare towards Seifer.

     "And YOU should've stopped her, or at least warned her against it! Can you bear the responsibility if anything bad should happen to her?"

    Seifer's line of vision was steadfastly focused on the ground.

     "Don't you think you're being a little over-protective over here?" He said, staring at his boots, his lengthy limbs stretched to their maximum while he slumped low into his seat. "It's just a T-Rex. For fuck's sake… she only had a little spell of woozies. No reason to be all ranting and raving like some hysterical woman." He sneered at Quistis, which only succeeded in further inflaming her annoyance.

     "OVER-PROTECTIVE?!! She could've been killed! And don't you dare use that kind of language with me!"

     "So? If she couldn't even handle a T-Rex by herself, then it's the best for all of us that she doesn't take the SeeD Exam."

     "How can you be so flippantly _casual_ about your student's life?"

     "HAH!" Seifer's head jerked up. "And what are you then? One second you're all treating her like a leper, the next you're on my friggin' ass for not stopping her from upgrading her skills! Signal before you turn, Instructor!"

    Quistis opened her mouth, wanting to rebuke him, but she couldn't find any words to explain herself.

    Zell, Selphie and Irvine could only look on quietly, and perhaps a little guiltily, for what he said had a shred of truth to it.

    All this while, Kyra had listened with her head bowed, her gaze narrowed at a little spot on her woolen blanket.

     "S…stop it." She began softly, before her voice started rising unsteadily. "STOP IT!

      I… I just want to pass the exam badly! It's got nothing to do with anyone! No one should blamed for what I have decided for myself, the least of all him!

      L…leave me alone! Haven't you been doing that all this while? Don't start acting like you care all of a sudden!"

    She swung her feet onto the floor in one shuddering action, weaving through them towards the door as quickly as she can, despite her wobbly sense of balance.

    Seifer followed her trail, stopping when he came near Quistis.

     "I don't know what's brewing in your mind. But I don't like it at all." He hesitated, lips slightly parted, as if he wanted to say something else.

     Apparently deciding against it, he pursed his lips once more, and strode out of the Infirmary, leaving the four SeeDs staring into space or at each other.

     "Guys. I think a discussion is due." Zell's glance traveled from one to another. "My dorm."

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     "I think we should stop this." Zell said as he settled cross-legged on his couch, while his friends sat in various positions near him.

     "Stop what?" Irvine questioned, although he had a reasonably clear inkling what Zell was trying to say… as did Selphie and Quistis. But he suspected that they didn't want to say anything; maybe they wanted to conceal their opinions until Zell and he had revealed theirs.

    Irvine always thought girls and women to be cunning creatures, even seemingly naïve-looking ones like his very own Selphie. His dalliances with the fairer sex had taught him well. And this time he may just prove his theory right. He decided to refrain from commenting as well.

     "Stop treating Kyra 'like a leper', like Seifer said."

     "Zell, are you developing something extra for the alt-world chick?" Selphie glared accusingly at Zell.

     "No. I just don't see what's the point in ignoring her anymore."

     "Oh, so you want her to become a permanent fixture in B-Garden?" Quistis raised an eyebrow at him. And it was a displeased eyebrow that she raised.

     "And what's so wrong about that?" Zell shrugged.

     "ZELL!"

     "SELPHIE!"

     "Maybe you'd like to tell us your reason for objecting?" Quistis tried to force back the edge that was creeping on her voice, and fighting a losing battle with it.

     "Help me out here. We started ignoring her under the impression that she'd wreak havoc in our lives, like Mary and Sue did. Agreed?" Zell looked at them with a questioning glance.

    His friends nodded.

     "Continue."

     "Yes, _Instructor_. Well, Kyra has done nothing of that sort since she came here, two weeks ago! Nothing's been stolen. You don't find her sneaking into the boys' locker rooms, or poisoning the fountain fish with cleaning alcohol. Nor do you see her destroying the Engineering Room by pressing the wrong buttons. Or the weaponry room by playing with gunblades. And as the favorite charrie, I don't see her stalking me. Which is by far the most unforgivable point about Mary and Sue. I don't complain, why should you? In fact, she's so low-profile that no one except us select few know her true identity. If it wasn't for your special treatment, Quisty, she would've been even less noticeable. WHAT MORE CAN YOU ASK FOR?"

     "But…but.."

     "But WHAT, Selphie? Now YOU GUYS tell me the reason for rejecting her?"

     "If the other SeeDs and Cadets find out she's another one from the Alternative World, they'd freak. I can just imagine the implications and chaos involved!" Quistis pointed out.

      "Who says anyone else has to know?" Zell countered. "So far no one has! And that reason of yours is just plain bull. You're being mean to her because of her 'Alt-Chick' label., not because of a character flaw or something."

    What he said made sense to them.

     "That's being unfair. We all know how bad it is to be judged by your label. Ice Queen of Balamb. Her High-Pitchness Messenger Girl. Balls-for-Brains Cowboy. Chicken Wuss. Not to mention Puberty Boy." Zell finished with a wicked smile, which was accompanied by a few snickers from them as he stated their dear Commander's pet name. "I'm sure we all suffered from being labeled before… so why would we do it to her?"

     "Alright, you made your point. But don't expect us to warm up to her." To be truthful, Quistis was a little impressed that Zell could present such a strong argument for Kyra, regardless of what she really thought of the girl.

     "All I'm asking is for you to not ignore her for the sake of ignoring! What you think of her is up to you. I can't change that."

     "Fair enough." Quistis replied with a little smile.

     "So the next time I talk to her, don't get on my case for it."

     "Zell, are you sure you don't have that teeny bit of interest in her? Buddy?" Irvine clamped an arm around his shoulder, grinning with a hint of evilness.

     "Of course not…" Zell replied curtly, brushing Irvine's hand away.

    His friends stared at each other mutely.

     "Who are you? What have you done to our goofy Zell?" Selphie shook him by the shoulders, faking a loud cry at the same time.

     "Cut it out, Selphie." He wriggled out of her grasp. "I've just been thinking a lot lately."

     "_THINKING_! OH THAT JUST CONFIRMS OUR ZELL HAS BEEN ABDUCTED BY UPUP ALIENS, THE EVIL ARCH-RIVALS OF THE PUPUS! NOOOOOO!!!" Selphie ran around his room shrieking and creating a ruckus that had them groaning and laughing at the same time.

     "Ah!" She ran up to him. "You're laughing! It's Zell again, guys! Zell's come back! Yay!" She jumped up and down like a coiled spring suddenly let loose.

     "Feeling better now?" She stopped bouncing and grinned at him.

     "Yeah. I'm fine now. Hehehe." He scratched his nose in embarrassment. He had no idea that his low spirits had been so obvious to them.

     "C'mon guys. It's late. We should've been sleeping soundly in our beds two and a half hours ago." Quistis shooed Irvine and Selphie out of the room. "There's one annoying aspect for you. Always making us lose our sleep over her." She turned to look at Zell, grumbling in a half-joking manner.

     "G'night, you guys."

    He headed for his king-sized bed, yawning as he did. Snuggling against his warm sheets and soft covers, his eyes started drooping… his consciousness drifting out slowly… slowly…

    When the ringing of the phone pierced through the air, jerking him rudely out of his short-lived sleep.

    He groaned, reached over to the bedside-table and barked into the receiver.

      "What do you want? It's two in the fucking morning!"

     "Zell…" A small voice traveled into his ear.

    His body tensed. 

    _Kimmie_

     "Why are you calling me?"

     "Zell, we need to talk."

     "There's nothing to talk about."

     "Why are you treating me this way?" She sounded choked over the line.

     "I'm sure we both know the answer."

     "You still can't forgive me?"

    There was a lull. A moment pregnant with anticipation and fear.

     "No."

     "Why? I swear I'll never let you down again!"

     "Even so. My trust in you is a flimsy thing now. It can never revert to what it was before. WE can never…"

     "All I ask for… is a second chance."

     "This is hardly the second chance. It is the third, maybe the fourth. Who the hell knows, or cares? I don't. Goodbye." The line clicked, followed by the despairing sound of the engaged tone.

    Zell's hand lingered on the telephone receiver.

    _That's right, Dintch. Time to let go._

_     Cos you won't be taken for a fool again. You won't._

     "And now it's time to recuperate!" He forced a brightness into his voice, jumping back into bed with an exaggeratedly big action.

    He was a firm believer of the recuperating properties of Rapid Eye Motion.

     --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Kimmie slammed down the receiver. She stormed towards Kyra's room, kicking the unlocked door open with a vengeful thrust from her foot.

    _It's all her fault all her fault. I'll make her pay for it yes I will you shameless bitch bitch bitch BITCH!!!_

    "WAKE UP, YOU BITCH!" She yelled as she stalked towards Kyra's bedside.

     "What in friggin' Hell are you up to now?" Kyra mumbled, the mechanics of her  
    brain still clouded by the lingering strains of sleep.

     "You seduced Zell! Now he wouldn't even talk to me!"

     "Oh please. I believe that situation had already been present _before_ I even appeared in this Garden." Kyra sat up angrily. "Don't try to shift all the blame to me! Besides…"

     "Besides what?"

     "I don't plan on staying too long here. No point in what you call, "seducing Zell", is there?"

     "That proves nothing. NOTHING, YOU HEAR? You keep claiming that you hold no interest for Zell. And yet I keep catching you making eyes at him!"

     "Hey, what do you mean I keep making eyes at him?"

     "I meant just that!" Kimmie spat. "And if you're not interested in him how do you explain _this_?"

    She dug into her pocket and held up two wrinkly pieces of paper in her hands. And she proceeded to recite their contents in a loud, mocking voice.

     "Oh! _I'm melting under it! Like the vanilla ice-cream girl under the rays of the sunshine boy_! Oh, _For you and only you! Can ever hold_… the what? Hahahaha _the Title deed of my heart_." Kimmie scrunched up the two pieces of paper in her hands. "So we have a regular little poet here."

     "Give them back to me!" Kyra lurched towards Kimmie, desperately trying to snatch them back.

     "No." Kimmie sneered at her, and started to tear them up into tiny little pieces.

    Kyra stared brokenly at the pieces littered all over the floor. She quickly knelt down, trying to assemble them to their original readability, but most of the pieces were too tiny for her effort to be of any use.

     "Don't bother trying. I'll just tear it up all over again." Kimmie gloated at her, stamping her foot to scatter the pieces all over the floor again.

    "YOU…" She gritted her teeth, staring up at Kimmie, seemingly trying to tear the other girl apart with her glare. Her fist clenched. Her temple vein pulsated with such violence it fell marginally short of bursting.

    The impulse to hit this whiny, infuriating, accusatory little _thing_ in front of her had never been more overwhelming.

    But amazingly,  she managed to keep herself from blowing up on Kimmie. She had better ideas how to piss the latter off – which would ultimately be the most satisfactory revenge on her.

     "Well, even if I AM interested in him, you have NO RIGHT to prevent me from doing so. You have NO RIGHT to stop me from telling him that I like him. What will tearing up the poems do, except waste some paper? I can always write more. But you can't. Cos you know for certain he won't even accept them, let alone read them. BECAUSE YOU ARE NOTHING BUT AN EX-GIRLFRIEND, AND YOU KNOW HE WON'T COME BACK—"

    Before she could even finish her sentence, Kimmie's hand struck her across her left cheek, leaving a faint imprint of her fingers upon it.

     "YOU HIT ME?"

     "You asked for it."

     "You will not get away with this lightly!"

      "Try me!"

     "As you wish." 

    _PIIIIIIIAKKK AKKKK AKK_!!!

    Kyra's strike-back was resounding. She made sure her slap was harder than the one Kimmie gave her. She didn't think it was too much. Hell no, she deserved every bit of it. The bitch had torn up her poems – written after several angst-y hours – after all.

    Kimmie quickly covered her cheek, inflamed with pain, her pretty features marred by her hateful expression.

     "YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!" She screeched at Kyra, lurching towards her.

     "Hey, if you report me, you'll get into trouble too. _Cos you started it._" Kyra sneered, and stepped a little to the left, almost causing the pigtailed girl to trip on her own feet.

    Then she looked at the time.

     "NOW you have chased all my sleep away. Great, just effing great!"

    Without waiting for Kimmie's reply, she grabbed her ball and headed out for another tireless session of early morning training, despite of her bruised rib and throbbing back. God forbid if she should stay here with this… shrieky hyena-type. It would do much worse to her injuries than a little bout of training ever would.

     "This time, I hope you get eaten by a T-Rex!" Kimmie hollered after her.

    Kyra whirled around.

     "I'm not as useless as a certain someone I know." She glanced meaningfully at Kimmie, and exited the dorm with wind chasing after her trail.

    _You want war? I'll give you a fucking World War III_

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    Zell strolled out of the Secret Area, looking at the ground with his hands tucked into his pockets. He had found sleep to be virtually unattainable after that phone call. Trustful as he was of the curative properties of R.E.M., there was nothing he could do if it refused to come. This particular morning it seemed especially elusive, giving him a berth wider than the diameter of Balamb Garden itself. 

    Maybe there was too much on his mind, or maybe his cells were having their bi-weekly exercise in hyperactivity. Whatever the reason, the more he attempted to lull himself into dreamland, the more determined his eyes were to stay open. He figured he might as well gather some fresh air in his lungs, which would be infinitely better than staying cooped in his room, tossing and turning under his covers while accompanied with nothing but distressful thoughts of a certain ex.

    He kicked a small stone that was unfortunate enough to be left lying along the pathway, just waiting for someone to trample, snub, or kick it away.

    While examining the ground, he failed to notice the little figure that was dashing into the Training Centre. And naturally, he did not notice that it was heading straight for him.

     "OUCH!!!" They cried simultaneously when the running blur crashed fully into him.

    "OWWWIEEEE!!" The girl whined, rubbing her side tenderly as she squeezed her eyes shut tightly while clenching and unclenching her teeth.

    Zell rubbed the bump on his forehead.

     "Sorry, I wasn't looking." He held out an arm to help her up.

    The girl shook her head to clear it of the spinning stars.

      "No, I'm sorry. I'm the one who was dashing around like a loony." She took his hand, then looked up in surprise as the owner of the voice registered in her mind.

     "Zell! What are you doing here?"

     "What are YOU doing here?" Zell exclaimed in an exasperated tone. "Have you forgotten you'd just been roughed up by a T-Rex?"

     "Training, of course." Kyra picked up her ball, which had fallen out of her grasp as she fell.

     "Oh no no. YOU are going back to YOUR ROOM this instance." He grasped her arm firmly, attempting to lead her out of the Training Centre.

    "I _DON'T WANT _TO GO BACK THERE!" She yelled, pulling her arm forcibly from his fingers.

     "Why not?" He was puzzled by her overtly huge reaction, although he did not stop to think about his own penchant for exaggerated outbursts.

     "I just don't." She said flatly, turning and heading straight for the core of the Training Centre.

    Now that she had beaten one, she had no qualms about facing off with a couple more T-Rexaurs.

    Besides… she wanted to ascertain if she really was capable of performing that "_incredible stunt_", as she had proudly labeled that previous move that had sent the T-Rex to the Guardians of Hell. 

    No one could ever accuse Kyra Lee of being a wimp when it came to her and her Lyrith.

    She wanted to feel that rush of hyper-pumped adrenaline, that exhilarating surge in her body just before she unleashed the Lyrith upon the beast.

    It was more addicting than any drug, any alcohol ever could be.

     _Maybe it's even better than sex. _She mused with a quirky smile, half-expecting Ramius to reply with some caustic remark. It was only then that she remembered he was no longer in her mind.

    She would never admit it openly, but things were strange without him around.

     "It's too dangerous to train alone!" Zell had apparently followed her into the Training Centre, but she had not noticed his presence due to her preoccupation with her thoughts.

     _Not as if you'd care._

     "It's none of your business, is it?" She rebuked him coldly without even looking at him. Of course she couldn't look at him. She would not let him know how flustered she was by his presence. The beasts in the Training Centre seemed to have been put off by the anxious vibes she was giving off, not one of them surfacing even after she walked around for a few minutes.

    In fact, if anyone was observant enough, they would have noticed that Kyra had been walking around in an irregular, direction-less manner.

    If Zell had noticed the peculiarity of her behavior, he did not make any indication of it.

     "Damn, Kyra! Someone needs to take you in hand." Zell placed a hand on her shoulder. "Why are you insistent on the training? It's almost as if you're… _obsessed_ with it!"

     "Maybe you're right." She stopped abruptly, almost causing Zell to crash into her back. "Maybe I _am_ obsessed with it. I want to pass the exam badly. As soon as possible. I want to go home. I don't want to stay here longer than necessary." She finally faced him with a stare, but it quickly softened as soon as her eyes met his.. "I feel ostracized in this place."

     Zell's eyes widened at her "ostracized".

    _She looks kinda sad._

     "I suppose I have a part in that?" Zell asked apologetically.

     "A big part." She muttered to herself.

     "Say again?"

     "You were a part, but not the only reason." She wasn't exactly lying, was she? "But I'm not from your world anyway. I have to return to mine some day. The only difference is when."

     "I understand. And I'm sorry for…. You know…" He scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

     "It's okay. But are you allowed to talk to me like this? Won't _they_ be on your case if they found out? I don't want you to get blamed just cos…"

     "Oh, don't worry 'bout it." He paused, appearing to be considering about something. "But what has your going back got to do with your die-hard training?"

    _He's shrewd!_ She goggled at him. _Shrewder than most people have given him credit!_

    She merely shook her head to his question, knowing that if she gave the answer, her return back to Earth would be seriously jeopardized.

     "Let me guess. You can't go back unless you pass the SeeD exam?" He said after studying her for a while.

    She couldn't help but smile at him.

    His features seemed much more approachable then, as if any barriers that had previously been erected by him against her had been pulled down, or had lessened. At least, she to console herself in that way.    

    Raising her right hand, she wanted to touch his cheek, thinking that perhaps, he wouldn't reject her this one time.

    Her arm stopped halfway, hanging in mid-air.

    _You can't sink any deeper, girl. Cos you have to go back someday._

    Her hand dropped, lying limply at her side.

     "I guess you're right. I shouldn't be running around when I just had a T-Rex ram me against a tree." She smiled crookedly. "Thanks for your concern." She headed for the exit this time, forcing her head not to turn back.

    It was a damn difficult thing to do.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    _Where can I go now?_ Kyra mulled to herself.

    Going back to her dorm was out of the question. The Training Centre wasn't as appealing to her now. What she needed was a quiet place to think, or maybe to space out. And battling with Grats and even T-Rexaurs would surely defeat that purpose – not to mention the mere thought of the Infirmary smell would send her bile juices up again.

     And so she headed for the Quad. She had not visited this place at all in the two weeks plus she dwelled in Cotta. Now it didn't seem that bad an idea.

    She sat down on the steps, encircling her knees with her arms and rocked back and forth on her butt. A stray piece of colorful streamer was lying around. With a faint smile, she picked it up and played around with it, making a little decoration with the strip of paper.

    She glanced around at the surroundings. The quad was rather messy, with paint brushes lying haphazardly in one corner, tubs of paint dumped nearby. Ladders were stacked at dangerous angles against the wall while various kinds of sound equipment was lying around in various half-finished stages of assembly.

    _If this is the place they are holding the SeeD Graduation Ball, then they have a long way to go. _She thought in amusement.

     "Selphie must be hard up on volunteers." She said aloud.

     "Yes I am." A muffled voice said.

    Kyra turned her head quickly. She had not seen Selphie when she came in. Then she saw a pile of fabric move, followed by a brown head that suddenly popped out from the middle of it.

    _Man, don't these people ever sleep?_

    "Am I intruding? Sorry, I'll leave right away." Kyra scrambled to her feet in a hurry. She didn't want to make herself more of a nuisance as she was viewed as now.

     "No no no! Sit down! I was just taking a break that's all." Selphie rubbed at her eyes, covering her mouth when a yawn surfaced.

     "Are you gonna finish this in time?"  
     "I'll finish it, by hook or by crook!" She showed her tightly clenched fist to Kyra in emphasis. Her steely gaze was a mirror of the determination in her voice, showing a glimpse of an unusually serious side to her. Kyra always thought there was more to Selphie than the bouncy image she portrayed and this was exactly the "evidence" she needed.

     "Say, you wanna join the Garden Festival Committee? I really need all the help I can get!"

     "Why not?" Kyra shrugged with a smile.

     "YAY! I have another member!"

     "So when do I start?"

     "How about right now?" There was a crazed look on Selphie's face as she grabbed Kyra's hand.

     "Umm…" Kyra looked at her watch.

    _Three more hours to training._

     "Just kidding! I can't believe you actually fell for it! Hahaha!"

     "I wouldn't mind, even if you weren't joking."

     "REALLY?"

     "Sure. Just tell me what I have to do."

     "Greaaaaat! First of all, the stage boards need to be tacked, the draperies hung up, the streamers hung, the walls painted, the…"  
     "Whao! One at a time, Selphie!"

     "Sorry!" Selphie stuck her tongue out. "I always have this bad habit of rattling my mouth off. Irvy has to stop me all the time. Hehehe."

     "It's okay. So should I set up the streamers first, you think?"

      "That'd be peachy!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

_~Three hours later~_

Kyra stood waiting at the Training Stadium for Seifer, sleep-deprived but curiously hyper due to the miracles of caffeine and light spirits.

    The bad mood from her mini-battle with Kimmie that morning had all but disappeared, or at least, been chased away temporarily.

     "You're very early today." Seifer spoke up from behind her. Soon he reached the spot in front of her.

    She caught him staring at her in a funny way.

     "You have a piece of… something in your hair."

     "What?" Kyra touched her hair. "Where?"

     "This!" He grabbed the piece of streamer that had somehow become trapped in her hair, his lips curving up slightly as he dangled it in his fingers. "New piece of hair accessory?"

     "Oh! I was helping Selphie with the Quad decorations this morning."

     "What?"

      "I joined the Garden Festival Committee!" She quipped nonchalantly,

      "WHAT?" He exclaimed again. "You'll be the death of me! You don't have time for the Garden Festival Committee! The SeeD exam and more urgently, the TEST is coming up soon! Are you spastic or something?"

      "When is the test booked?"

      "Have you lost your memory? The day after tomorrow!"

      "Alright alright! You don't have to bust a lung yelling at me!" Kyra raised an eyebrow at him. "Don't worry. I'll be ready." She said with a false note of confidence.

    She knew very well the TEST would not just be any ordinary fitness test. It would probably touch on ALL that she had learnt from Seifer. And she was not if sure all that knowledge crammed into her would still be retained in her mind when the day comes where they were put to the test. However, her mile-high pride refused to let her admit that to anyone, much less someone like Seifer who would more likely than not bug her to no end about it. No, this was not something that was acceptable to her.

     "Good. Make sure you pass it, or you'll never hear the end of me! YOU are my first student; you will do me proud or I'll skin you alive!"

     "I will! I have no other choice."

     "Please. I have no interest in your affairs. Just make sure you fulfill what you've just said, end of story."

     "You jerk! Can't you at least pretend to be interested? It's common courtesy!"

    The loud snort that Seifer made in reply was enough to set her blood on a rapid boil.

    The long spell where he focused his stare on her made her smother it though. She had to admit he was behaving rather strangely today.

     "What?" She shifted uneasily under his scrutiny. She had often likened Seifer's eyes to that of a tiger. And right now she felt like a twitching rabbit under the predatory intent of this tiger.

     "Perhaps we should try something different today, instead of our usual exercise regime."

     "Something different."

     "We should get you a GF."

     "A GF? Seifer please tell me you're joking."

     "No. I'm not joking. And yes. GF. GUARDIAN FORCE, in case you didn't know." He smirked. "So are you up to it?"

    She made no reply, her eyes bulging out in shock.

     _He's out of his friggin' mind!_

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YES YESSSSSS. I finally finished the chapter, weeeeeeeee. I know it took too long in its coming… and I apologize for that. But if you wanna blame, blame the stupid worm/virus that ate away at my computer… I HATE THEM!!! T__T  But in case you haven't lost you patience with this story and the long wait I take to update, allow me to express my deepest gratitude and sympathies for making you wait.

I dedicate this chapter to the following people (in no order of preference):

Dark Angels – Thanks for following my story ^__^ And it doesn't matter when you review, as long as you did, I will still be very grateful for it! Pity I couldn't update earlier though… I'm sorry for that.

Legendary Super Candyce – You really think the T-Rex fight was good? Heh you have no idea how happy that makes me… cos action scenes are not my best thing. -__- I can't tell you much about what's wrong with Kimmie and the ball without exposing too much of the "plot"… (as if there's one to begin with -__-) but eventually these would be explained. Oh yes. The only question is when…

shootin'star : Ahahahah.  You have raised a very interesting point. Again, I can't reveal much at this point, but let's just say I'm a Zell fan, Kyra's a Zell fan (She hella is)…. So let's just leave it at that. Hehehhehhe.

And… since they're talking about GFs… you know what comes to mind? THE PRE-REQ!!! And what is after the pre-req? Mehehehhe yes… I'm sure everyone knows what's after that. So perhaps the story wouldn't be as painfully slow-moving as it is now. No promises though… no promises.     


	9. Chapter 9 The Adventures of Almasy and L...

**Chapter 9: The Adventures of Almasy and Lee – GF Hunting Part (1)**

**    A/N: Warning: EXTREMELY LENGTHY CHAPPY AHEAD!!!**

"You want ME to acquire a GF!" Kyra pointed to herself, her astonishment expressed clearly in her finger and eyebrows raised to the heavens.

     "You got a problem with that?" Seifer crossed his arms at his chest, showing in no uncertain terms that even if she _did_ have a problem with his "suggestion", he would not have entertained it in any way.

     "Firstly, I already have Shiva!"

     "Shiva, is Trepe's GF! You need to acquire one of your own."

     "Secondly, I…"

     "You what?"

    _I can't tell him the real reason! HE doesn't know I'm from Earth and not from Cotta!_

_      Might as well have a go for it…_

     "N…nothing. So where should I get another GF?"

     "Fire Cavern."

     "Fire Cavern? But I thought Ifrit's already been acquired by Squall as his pre-requisite?"  
     "Yes, but there's another Fire-Based GF residing in there now."

     "Alright. Anything's better than those booooooring exercises you bombard me with everyday!"

     "I need to get clearance first."

     "HAHAHAHA Whoever thought _SEIFER ALMASY_ would be saying he needs to get clearance for anything!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!"

   He glared at her, and poked her at the side viciously.

   "SHUT UP YOU PIGGY ON TWO LEGS!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Unbeknownst to the teacher-disciple pair, another person was looking at them from a fair distance, trying to maintain a calmness while she took in their antics… trying being the operative word.

    Quistis wanted to observe just how Seifer had trained Kyra. She wanted to know how the alternative-world girl had managed to improve so drastically, from a slightly pudgy girl who failed the Basic SeeD enrolment physical test – although she had to admit the passing requirements were far from basic – to one who managed, though barely, to defeat a T-Rex without anyone else's help.

    She wanted to see if it was pure dumb luck, or if the girl really had what it takes to become SeeD exam-candidate worthiness.

    Instead, what she saw was Seifer trying to pick the piece of something from Kyra's hair with a weird smirk on his face.

    A decidedly unpleasant taste with a distinct sourness went squirreling up her throat. She didn't know what caused it, and heck she was disturbed by its presence.

    She watched them some more. Now he was staring at Kyra in a transfixed manner.

    Unconsciously, her brow creased while her features settled into a mask of Blizzaga as she covered the distance that lay between them and herself, and approached them from behind.

     "I need to get clearance first."

     "HAHAHAHA Whoever thought _SEIFER ALMASY_ would be saying he needs to get clearance for anything!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!"

     "SHUT UP YOU PIGGY ON TWO LEGS!"

   Quistis frowned. She came here to check up on their progress, and yet she caught them goofing around instead of training properly!

     "Clearance for what?" She asked, disliking how sharp her tone sounded in her ears.

    Seifer appeared not to be affected by the sharp tone, nor did he appear surprised by her presence.

     "Acquisition of a GF from Fire Cavern for one Cadet Lee, Instructor Trepe." He drawled lazily, cocking his head in askance towards her.

     "Denied." She stated flatly.

     "Why? She needs a GF of her own. She has to return Shiva to you sooner or later!"

     "You will not question my authority, Seifer Almasy. But just so you could satisfy that unruly curiosity of yours, I will tell you the reason. SHE does not have the right to obtain a GF. If she does, what happens when she returns to her world, and the GF has no charge? Even though temporary transfers of GFs are permissible, the rules explicitly disallow permanent transfers, unless the charge is no longer capable of junctioning, or if the GF chooses to leave on his or her own accord!"

     "Screw the rules! Some of them are so full of shit, I don't even know why they exist anymore!"

     "The GF will cause serious damage in the next person's mental state if it's being transferred about like a tennis ball!"

     "Wait… what did you say just now?" Seifer glared at Quistis. He thought he had just heard something of paramount importance... and yet he could not let himself believe without confirming it again, from the Instructor's mouth no less.

     "The GF will cause serious—"

     "NOT THAT! BEFORE THAT! When she returns to her world?" He closed his eyes and reopened them, the pupils seeming to enlarge in Quistis' vision. "WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN?"

    _Uh Oh…_ Kyra thought, her glance flitting uneasily between Quistis and Seifer, not knowing how to react.

    Quistis cursed herself inwardly. She could not believe that there would ever come a day when words would escape from her mouth without her command. This was simply unacceptable. She was always in perfect and total control over her every move… well maybe not every single time but still…

     "Let me put this in a more civilized manner. What do you mean by '_when she returns to her world_'?" Seifer kept his tone tight, controlled, but his eyes seemed to spill fire, silently grilling Quistis under their slow flames.

    Still she refused to answer him, turning away from his grilling.

   _What's coming over me?_

    She was terribly frustrated. Usually she would've handled this kind of situation in a matter of seconds with some witty comeback or convenient excuse, but at that particular moment her mind seemed to be stuck in a time freeze.

    Exasperated by her lack of response, Seifer turned to Kyra instead.

      "Maybe YOU can tell me what's going on?"

    His interrogating stare seemed intent on drilling holes through her eye sockets into her brain.

    She sweated under the intensity of his stare, feeling more than ever like the quivering rabbit. But of course she could not tell him what he wanted to know.

     "Fine. Both of you want to play dumb. FINE! But let me tell you. Unlike some others around here, I'm both brain and brawn!"

    He pointed to Kyra.

      "YOU do not belong in this world. YOU are just like that whatshername who was fucking up this Garden upside-down last year!"

    He swiveled towards Quistis.

      "I knew there was something fishy about this whole gig. Suddenly we have an exchange student from Trabia, at the end of the semester. And suddenly the _Great Heroine-Instructor Trepe_ decides that the new student needs to take the SeeD exam, barely a day into her first class. Usually a Cadet of her age would have at least _some_ practical training, but zilch, nada! She's even worse than those newly admitted newbies who at least looked like they passed the fitness tests for entry! Need I go on more? How about using a little more tactics when you attempt a cover-up, INSTRUCTOR TREPE!" He ranted at them, throwing up his hands in the air for emphasis, a disdainful sneer etched in his face.

    Quistis seethed at his words.

     "So what difference does it make whether she is from an alternative world or not? She's still a Cadet!"

     "Hell lot of difference!" He spat at her. "I don't appreciate being lumped together as a class reject together with HER. You say you're giving ME a chance? More like you're trying to get rid of two _troublesome_ people at once. Think you're so brilliant, Instructor? Do you ever spare a thought for the 'rejects' when you treat them as your toys for shifting and playing around?" He paused, catching a breath from his tirade.

    He wasn't expecting a reply.

     "So what are you saying? That you won't continue as her tutor?" Quistis asked quietly.

    He was taken aback by her question.

     "I—"

     "I knew you'd give up before the term ends." She smiled mockingly at him. "And who was it that said he would MAKE SURE she passes both the test and the SeeD exam? Perhaps—" She stopped, dropping the condescending tone she had taken "— I'd been wrong to place my trust in you."

     "Trust? Don't dress it up in such pretty words!" He snorted.

     "I'm not." She whirled around to face him, her pupils dilated, nostrils flaring in anger. "Yes. I tried to bundle you away from my class, partly to remove the distraction the two of you caused. But I won't throw the responsibility of teaching her at you if I didn't believe that you were capable of doing it!" She crossed her arms huffily. "And I think you're nearer to succeeding than you think. She killed a T-Rex! To you it may be a piece of cake. But most Level Seven SeeDs have slight difficulties doing that! And now you tell me you're backing off? When at last it seems possible that this might just work? Where is your sense of pride? Don't you want to see all that hard work you've put into training her come into fruition? I'm an Instructor; I know how it feels. So don't tell me you want to give up now."

     "—I never said I wanted to give up." Seifer finally relented, albeit a little grudgingly.

     "Good. I'm granting the clearance for Kyra's acquisition for a new GF."

     "But didn't you just deny it a few minutes ago?"

     "Let me finish! This is provided we can find another host for the GF after she leaves… someone who can tame it, cos some GFs are notoriously violent during permanent transfers. I wasn't objecting on a whim when I refused her earlier."

     "Indeed, the terms 'Instructor Trepe' and 'whim' do not go well together." He smirked. "I can be that host. Right now, I only have Gilgamesh… and he ain't too happy about his return. He needs a distraction." He continued, not giving Quistis a chance to rebuke his earlier comment.

     "Do as you see fit."

     "So… do I need to submit a field trip request?"

     "Preferably, you should submit this as a Pre-Exam Requisite, which I'm sure you know is a must for any candidate taking the SeeD Exam. You've done yours way ahead of time, but Kyra hasn't, so let's kill two birds with one stone. Standard Procedure requires a SeeD as her support, but her case is far from standard. If Kyra comes back with a GF, she is automatically eligible for the SeeD Exam... So I don't think there's a need for another test already." She smirked. "Think you can handle it?"

     "There is nothing the Almighty Seifer Almasy cannot handle. What's a little pre-req support gonna be but fly-swatting for me?" He bragged, his nose tilted so high in the air that any untrimmed nose hairs would've been disgustingly visible. Fortunately for Quistis, Seifer was too proud of his appearance to be seen as unkempt.

     "Okay, Kyra, you—" Quistis looked about in surprise when she found the other girl no longer there. "Where is she?"

    Seifer shrugged.

     "Probably training at the Training Centre. This is one student you needn't worry about loafing off." He grumbled. "I want a restraining order on her."

     "Couldn't stay still, huh? Alright. See me in the office later. I'll pass the required paperwork to you."

     "Aye Aye Ma'am."

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    The cafeteria was filled with empty tables, as most of the Garden's occupants were either away at missions, lessons, or just generally busy. The few occupied tables were scattered sparsely at different areas of the large area, giving off a kind of emptiness quite distinct from its bustling noisiness during the peak periods.

    Kyra let out a huge sigh as she stared at the soda in front of her, the condensation on the tall paper cup's surface trickling slowly down to form a mini pool at the bottom.

     "Trying to shift the soda with your mind power?" A jovial voiced arrested her attention. Its owner set down a plate of hotdogs on the table, and took the seat across from her.

    She brightened up immediately upon lifting her head and sighting him.

     "Zell!"

    Since he dropped the whole "cold-shoulder act", her spirits never failed to lift whenever she saw him, no matter how bad her mood could be. She was partially influenced by his wildly contagious smiles (She didn't christen him sunshine boy for nothing).  And of course, she was always genuinely glad to see him as well.

     "What's wrong? Maybe I can help?" He asked in concern, before stuffing a whole hotdog into his mouth and swallowing it after a few chews.

     "What makes you think something's wrong?" She asked back, wondering if he could read her mind like a book.

     "It's written all over your face. And I say nobody stares at sodas if there's nothing on their mind."

     "Alright then. Maybe you can help me. Question."

     "Shoot."

     "Am I really that annoying?" She asked dejectedly, staring back at her soda again.

     "Of course not. What makes you say that?"

     "Cos both Quistis and Seifer act as if I'm a…a locust or something."

     "Locust! Hahaha!" He started cracking up, but stopped immediately when she shot a baleful look at him.

     "Ahem…sorry. Well that's cos Quisty takes a long time to warm up to strangers." He explained. "And Seifer, well… he's just a jerk. Don't take it to heart."

     "Mmmph yes he is. But Seifer only started doing that after he found out I was… _not from Cotta_." 

    She brought her voice down to a low whisper as she said the last few words, glancing around warily to ensure no one was within hearing vicinity. This prompted Zell to lean forward to catch her words, which only caused her voice to become scratchy with nervousness… rather ironic as it would seem iif someone else were to be eavesdropping on them.  

"He said one of my predecessors created a lot of trouble in the Garden?" She refrained from using the exact words Seifer had. God knows what Zell would think of her if she started spewing obscenities.

     "That's the grossest understatement I've ever heard." Zell muttered under his breath.

     "What exactly did they do?"

     "They either severely disrupted the operations of B-Garden or made themselves horrible pain in the asses."

     "Like how?" She leant forward eagerly, this time blissfully unaware that the distance between them had diminished even more. Her voice returned to its previous level as her curiosity got the better of her.

     "Mary stole the Headmaster's seal, blew up the engineering room courtesy of her itchy fingers, damaged half the weaponry room by playing with the gun blades, and invited a particularly malicious virus into our mainframe server by downloading illegitimate content from external parties.

      Sue... she was another troublemaker from Hell! She poisoned the fountain fish with Dr K's cleaning alcohol, caused the elevators to break down cos she kept pressing excessively at all the buttons at the same time, wreaked Sefie's Garden Festival preparations last year, stole Quisty' test papers and revealed the questions online, snitched on Irvine's date with another girl, got Seifer into the black mark list by provoking him into a fight AND SHE HOGGED ALL THE HOTDOGS IN THE CAFETERIA AND TORE UP 'BYE BYE PUPURUN' WHICH I HAVE BEEN TRYING TO BORROW FOR AGES."

    He cleared his throat awkwardly.

     "And most importantly, they stalked Squall. Rinoa was livid, but she couldn't do jack shit."

     "Woah. Sounds like they had fun."

     "Tell me about it! B-Garden became the laughing stock among the three Gardens for allowing the same thing to happen twice! So you can't really blame Quisty and the rest too much for ignoring you!"

     "But I'm not Mary or Sue!"

     "Yes, but they need time to accept that!"

    _Talk about giving your race a bad name._

     "Time. That's just the thing I don't have a lot of." Kyra mumbled.

     "I know. But that's the way they are."

     "You're right I guess." She mumbled glumly. "Not that it's any different from Earth."

     "What do you mean?"

     "You don't need to know." She rose from her chair, picking up her soda in one hand.

     "But I want to?" He said, prompting her to look back at him.

     "Why?" She was perplexed, and unaccustomed to this sudden show of interest in her affairs. "You don't need to feel guilty, or make it up to me or anything! As I said I don't blame you at all."

     "It's not that…" He scratched his neck again. "I want to be your friend. So naturally I'd want to help you."

     She stared at him, and ended up bursting out in giggles.

      "Do you know that you sound like a kindergarten kid? I want to be your friend indeed!"

      "What's wrong with that? And what's a kindergarten?"

      "A place where preschoolers… erm... kids aged six and below study at in preparation for primary school."

     "And you say I _sound_ like a six-year-old kid?" He asked incredulously, looking none-too-pleased about being likened to one.

     "I was joking!" She slapped him lightly on the shoulder. "But why the hell would you make a friend who'd disappear without warning, at any time at all?"

    He shrugged.

     "No reason really. Something compels me to know you better, and I have no idea what it is. But all I can say is, no matter where you're from, I'd still treat you as a friend. Only idiots would be prejudiced against people just because their race is different or something."

    She smiled.

     "Alright, if you really want to know."

    She sat back down, and took a long sip from her soda. She was silent for a spell, contemplating on a way to start telling him what was essentially a rather painful part of her memory.

     "I don't know if it's my reclusive nature or what, but I tend to be misunderstood by people who don't know me well enough. I've been told I look stuck up when I don't talk or smile, I don't really know or care.

      But when I was in high school, I was fortunate enough to come across this guy, Colin. He was my volleyball team senior, and later the captain. Now this was a guy who could talk his way out of any kind of situation – his mouth was _that_ powerful. Under his influence, I gradually came out of my shell and started talking to my other team members.

       One of his favorite motto was 'Friends may not always come easily; you have to go forward and make them.' And it helped me! It really did."

     "Sounds like a nice guy to me."

     "He _is_ a nice guy."

     "And… you fell for him?"

     She nodded.

     "That obvious huh?"

     She could tell that it was indeed rather obvious to him, although he didn't affirm it with any particular action or reply.

     "Did you tell him?"

     "Yes. On his Inauguration Day. I was too emotional that day, so I told him! But…"

     "But?"

     "Turned out the team manager was his girlfriend. And the manager happened to be one of my closer girlfriends. So… I lost two of them at once. And gradually, I lost all of my friends from the team when they found out about I liked him."

     "Tough." He said sympathetically

     "But I don't blame them. It's awkward when our group goes out together. Even if I try to act normal, there'd still be bad vibes between us… and it spoils any fun there might've been."

     "But didn't you know they were together before that?"  
     "I was too blind. Or in denial. Everyone saw it, but I didn't, or else I wouldn't have told him and wreaked our friendship. It's a risk I knew I had to take; that things might never revert to the same." She stopped, gulping down the soda in deep drags, as if trying to drown out something inside. "But it doesn't matter now. I've since learnt to edge out whatever it was I had for him." She looked up suddenly, gazing intently at Zell.

    He blinked, thrown off by her gaze, and looked away uneasily.

     "Ha…. That's good, I suppose?"

    She lowered the gaze, her eyelids heavy with disappointment. But she had to admit she had half-expected his reaction.

     "I've told you all my secrets. Now you tell me, why did you break up with Kimmie?"

     "……"

     "Okay, I won't force you. Tell me if and when you want to."

    She rose again, carrying her tray with her.

     "Thanks for asking."

     "It was nothing." He grinned sheepishly.

     "No, it felt good to know someone cares enough."

    _Especially if that someone is you_

    She winked. "Enjoy your hot dogs."

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     "Did you hear that, Irvy?" Selphie widened her eyes at Irvine. She had taken the table behind Kyra and Zell's table just as the latter was launching into a full-blown list of Mary and Sue's disruptive deeds, and accidentally "overheard" their conversation – or so she reasoned.

     "Yeah. So what?"

     "I feel a little guilty about treating her bad."

     "Well, I'm not. And we're not exactly ill-treating her in any way, are we?"

     "But Irvy, don't you think we're too biased against her? 'Sides she volunteered for Festival Committee! She can't be all that bad?"

     "Provided she doesn't destroy all your hard work like Sue did."

     "Awww… but so far she's been nothing but a great help! I'd hardly call someone who's willing to slog at the stage at four in the morning a Sue!"

     "It's her ploy, dammit. Her ploy to get your defenses down! Then when you least expect it, she'll ruin everything."

     "IRVY! Why are you so against her?"

     "I don't know. I just am!"

    _You liar! You're afraid she might snitch… don't think that I can't see through your act! _Selphie narrowed her eyes at Irvine, regarding him with not a little suspicion, but decided against voicing her thoughts.

     "I don't care! SHE was the one helping me when everyone else gave me a mile-long berth every time I mention the words 'Garden Festival'! SHE was the only other pair of hands with me this morning when I was so exhausted I didn't even realize I'd fallen asleep among the drapes! Where were YOU? You have NO RIGHT to say it's only a ploy when you weren't even here to help me!"

     "Sefie… But…"

     "BUT YOUR FRIGGIN' ASS BUT!" Selphie finally blew her top. Of the several months Irvine had known her, he had never witnessed her using swear words of any kind, even including the times she caught him fooling around.

    She had to be either murderously furious, or…

     "If you want to convince me of your theory, then BE THERE to point it out to me when you have HARD EVIDENCE of any tampering or sabotage. Otherwise, STAY. OUT. OF. IT!" She yelled at him.

    _Mehehe… a few more angry words, and he will be forced to join my committee!_ She thought gleefully, mentally rubbing her palms together.

     "Hey guys, when did you get here?" Zell interrupted her rant, much to the chagrin of Selphie, and even more so to the relief of Irvine. He had a pretty strong feeling that Selphie had an ulterior motive to her rant.

     _Thank you, Zell! You da man! _He mouthed at his spiky-haired friend with almost-teary gratitude, while Zell only looked dumbfounded at him.

    _Oooh! Talk about uninvited appearances!_ Selphie fumed, casting spiteful glances towards Zell, which only served to increase his puzzlement.

     "We just got here! Join our table!" Irvine said enthusiastically. _Help me out here, man!_ He seemed to be conveying as he stared pleadingly at Zell.

     "Sure!" Zell sat down at the table, and waved at Quistis when he saw her looking around for seats. "Over here, Quisty!"

    She turned towards the direction of his voice, and quickly made her way over to them.

     "Why the glum face, Sefie?" She asked in blatant amusement, earning only a grunt in response.

     "Oh, you guys. Just to keep you updated. Kyra's acquiring a GF from the Fire Cavern as her pre-req before the SeeD Exam, with Seifer as her support. So I won't be around tomorrow morning, cos I'll be waiting there for them."

     "WHAT? A GF?" The three of them exclaimed in unison, before exchanging astonished glances at each other.

     "Are you sure she's ready for it?" Irvine asked doubtfully.

      "Why not?"

     "Cos she's like a _two-week old cadet_? Don't you think it's too risky?"

     "So what, Sefie? She did what none of us could when we were two week old cadets!"

     "SHE didn't do anything. I still think the secret lies in the ball!" Irvine sounded rather unimpressed.

     "But even so, the ball is just a weapon. Without an able human to wield it, even the most invincible weapon would be useless!" Zell declared, pointing his finger in the air.

     "Zell you're so silly!" Selphie giggled and poked him at the side.

     "You know, when Seifer showed me her training curriculum, I was convinced she wouldn't last three days. I was actually waiting for her to come begging to be let off." Quistis gestured with a hand. "But she never did."

     "She's what you would call stubborn." Irvine grumbled again.

     "Why are you so against her, Irvy?"

     "Why are you asking me again? I told you!" He frowned at Selphie. "I don't like the vibes she gives off!"

     "Neither do I." Quistis muttered. "But that doesn't mean we should restrict what she can do."

    She shook her head.

     "Sometimes I think she's the female prototype for a Seifer clone. She _never_ listens when I tell her not to go into the Training Centre alone!"

     "Yes, and did you notice how arrogant she can be?" Irvine added eagerly, obviously excited that someone shared his opinion.

     "Come to think of it, I was expecting Seifer to quit halfway. Who would've thought he'd have the patience to coach a newbie for this long?" Selphie pointed to the air, imitating Zell's earlier gesture. "This is what we call the Miracles of Infatuation! One would do anything to catch the beautiful Instructor's eye, even Seifer Almasy! Hahahaha!"

     "Sefie! What rot are you talking about!"

     "Quisty Quisty Quisty! Come off it! Even the fountain fish can see—"

     "You guys are too much!" Zell interrupted Selphie, his face scrunched up in displeasure. "How can you be so prejudiced against Kyra? She only _appears_ to be arrogant! Surely that's no reason to compare her to that jerk? In fact, I've never met anyone more unassuming! I don't understand how you can say such things without biting your tongue!"

     "Zell. You've been fooled by appearances, you poor boy! Which sane girl would act arrogant in front of the person she likes? Of course she'll be all sweet on you but to us she couldn't be bothered! If you wanna know what she's really like you gotta ask Seifer." Selphie finished with a smirk and yet another pointy. "Say I could get used to this!" She quipped, striking a few more pointies that would have given the young John Travolta a run for his money.    

     "E…even if it's true, and I really doubt it is, you can't criticize her like that when you don't know how dedicated she is to her training!"

     "What difference does it make? She's still a huge headache we don't need. The sooner she goes back the better." Quistis nailed Zell with a stare. "Are you sure you don't have a teeny bit of liking for her? Speaking as if you understand her so well!"

     "Don't digress! Has it ever occurred to you why she's so obsessive about it?"

     "To pass the exam and become a SeeD!" Quistis replied with eye-rolling impatience. "What exactly are you driving at?"

     "You know, and all of us know how tough it is to train and become a SeeD! I'm sure she does too. She could jolly well spend her time cavorting about instead of doing all that training. Unless she's a sucker for punishment, which is definitely not the reason! So why is she subjecting herself to such physical exertion? Obviously cos passing the exam is important to her! Because if she doesn't pass she can't go back to her wor—"

    He stopped abruptly just as the words rolled off his tongue, irretrievable like the ashes of burnt Gil.

    _Nooooo! Me and my big mouth!_

     "What did you just say, Zell?" Irvine moved closer to him, his eyes glittering with hungry interest.

     "He said, Kyra needs to pass the SeeD exam in order to return to her world." Quistis smirked in delight. "Oh so that's why she hasn't given up yet."

     "Damn…" Zell raked a hand through his hair, vexed with himself, and dreading the thought that his machine-gun mouth had gotten him into trouble again.

     "So now, we just need to send her packing to some easy-ass mission and let her pass SeeD, and she'll be on her way home!" Irvine's grin widened as his excitement at the prospect grew.

     "But you can't be too obvious, or the other candidates will complain. Especially Seifer. If he finds out the only student he's ever taught passes SeeD through the backdoor, we'll never hear the end of it! And believe you me, that is a very high danger."

     "That's easy, Quisty. Just make sure he isn't on the same team!" Irvine suggested.

     "And if that doesn't work, we can always get beautiful Instructor Trepe to seduce him and—"

     "Sefie!"

     "Why! Why are you all so eager to send her back?"

    They looked at him, then at each other.

     "I don't understand you people. At all."

    He scraped his chair back nosily, stood up and walked away, without another backward glance.

    They stared after him. Then at the half-eaten hotdog on the table.

     "Whooboy. He's pissed." Irvine let out a shrill whistle. "Looks like our favorite has fallen for the alt-world chick! All our earlier precautions, wasted. To think I even went through all that effort to spare him of a potential body-to-body encounter with Kyra! How can you do this to me, Zelly boy?" He lamented in mock sorrow, wiping at imaginary tears from the corners of his eyes.

     "I'm sure it's just a passing fancy." Quistis squeezed his shoulder sympathetically. "And it doesn't matter anyway, now that we know how to send her back."

     "But that also means I'll be losing another committee member!" Selphie sighed. "They're so hard to come by…" She trailed off, looking meaningfully at them.

     "Oh, I just remembered. I have test papers to mark." Quistis stood up hastily. It didn't take very long before her tall, slim figure disappeared into the cafeteria's entrance.

     "I…ah…I have a mission briefing in ten minutes. Later, Babe." Irvine kissed her cheek, leaving Selphie sulking alone at the table while he left it in a fashion similar to Quistis'.

     "Oooh! There they go again!"

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     "Squall, darling. Why don't you tell me the truth? What _exactly_ is going on here?" Rinoa smiled sweetly at Squall.

    But Squall knew more than anybody about the threat that lay beneath that smile, which would otherwise be disarmingly deceptive to any other guy.

     "What do you mean." It wasn't so much of a question, but more of a silent admission that there _was_ indeed something going on. He couldn't help but admire himself for not succumbing immediately under the pressure.

     "Please, Squall. I'm not a gullible little kid. You think I can't see through your act? This mission hardly needs both of us on it! A higher-level cadet could've handled it sufficiently! "

     "Ri—"

     "And you've been delaying our return for a whole week already!"

     "Rinny… you're making this hard for me!"

     "I don't give a damn!"

    Squall blanched at her cursing. Whatever happened to the Rinoa he had first met, the one who was practically a study in ladylike behavior? He was now more than a little suspicious that he had been fooled by her dainty package.

     But still, he had jumped onto the bandit's ship. There was no getting off now, and he did not intend to get off anytime soon.  He rubbed his chin with contemplative blankness blanketing his face.

_    I suppose there's no harm in telling Rinny about that Lee girl? She must've gone back to her world long ago like the two before her. And they stayed, what, two to three days?  Yes, it'll be safe. It's not like I'm the favorite anyway. _

_     I hope Rinny will forgive me..._

     "… Alright." Squall relented. "But first promise you won't get mad?"

     "I promise! Now what are you keeping from me?"

     "I think it'd be better if you were sitting down." Squall took a deep breath.. "Do you remember this place called Earth?"

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     "Wait!" Kyra called out, trotting after Seifer as they set off towards the Fire Cavern.

     "What?" He turned, a tad impatiently.

     "Well… Don't you think I should stock up on magic before I go in and fight?"

     "How many of what spells do you have?"

     "Forty Firas, twenty Blizzaras, fifty Thundaras, seventy Curas, a hundred Sleeps and Petrifies apiece. Oh, and nine scans. That's it."

     "Why didn't you stock up when you had the chance?" Seifer threw his arms up in the air. "Why do you always have to do things until the last minute?"

     "What do you mean always? And I didn't really have a chance to stock up, did I? You coop me up all day in the Garden doing your meaningless exercise regime! Don't forget, you only allowed me one miserable run around the Acauld Plains, and only for two friggin' hours! What did you expect? These were all the spells I could manage to stock, you jerk! Don't ask for the impossible!"

     "Excuses." He scowled. "You could've brought it up to me in advance, not _ten minutes _before we step into Fire Cavern!"

     "HELLO! I only knew we were acquiring a GF like _yesterday, remember, oh great master?_ And then you were so busy over the paperwork I didn't even get to see you for the rest of the day!"

     "Little miss piggy! Don't forget you were supposed to sit for Trepe's test within these few days. Don't tell me you were planning to take that test with a half-stocked inventory of magic! I'll skin you alive!"

     "You're so fricken unreasonable." She swore at him, no longer caring about maintaining any semblance of image she might have had. Not that she needed to maintain any in front of Seifer anyway.

     "ME! Unreasonable! Ask yourself who's the inept pig who refuses to make ample preparations, resulting in a last minute rush to stock up!" He glared at her, the level of his voice escalating along with his temper. "Take heed, pork patty, that rush jobs just ain't the same! The potency of the magic spells decrease dramatically do you know that? Especially crucial in your case – you lack Blizzaras the most, and your soon-to-be GF's weakness is Blizzard. Now tell me, am I being unreasonable?"

     "Yes." She muttered.

    He stepped forward threateningly, as if intending to hit her, but she didn't back down, and continued staring back defiantly at him.

     "I'll be glad to be rid of you once the pre-req is over." He snarled.

     "Ditto." She said. "For once, I share your opinion on that."

    He made no other reply, but stalked ahead of her towards the Acauld Plains.

    Mid-stride, he turned on his heel with one of the fiercest scowls she had ever seen.

     "What? You wanna argue some more?"

     "Hold your palms out." He said curtly.

    She did as he instructed, hesitatingly, for she was unable to guess what he was trying to do. "Don't cut it off or anything." She muttered.

     "I'm transferring all of mine to you. We'll save more time this way."

    He grabbed her palms in his, closing his eyes as he transmitted several tens of each spell to her.

     "So not each of us only has to draw… twenty Firas, twenty-five Blizzaras, ten Thundaras and five Curas."

    She quickly did the sums in her head.

     "What about you? Don't you need the spells too?"

    "I, little Miss Piggy, am an over-qualified Cadet. I have long since abandoned the need for Mid-level spells." His handsome features were horribly twisted by a mixture of arrogance and contempt for his disciple. "All that I carry now are the high-level spells. And if I had _my_ way, my inventory would've been more comprehensive than it currently is!"

     "But?"

     "None of your concern, is it?" He snapped. "Let's go!"

    She could tell that it was a touchy subject with him.

     "Why, Instructor Trepe refused to let you carry the ultra-offensive spells like Ultima? Am I right or am I right?" She rubbed it in, second-guessing his abrupt change of subject. "I'm not surprised at all. You have anger management issues. Who in their right mind would let you carry such destructive magic?" She smirked. "I'm concerned that they let you carry any high-level spells at all!"

     "Don't push it, little miss piggy." He spat out through gritted teeth, his fist clenched tightly enough for his knuckles to turn white. "If I managed my anger any lesser, you would've been crawling all over the ground searching for your teeth and non-existent pride by now!"

    Her retort was cut off when she felt a stinging, icy pain at the back of her neck.

     "OW!" She touched her neck, and found a large swelling where she had been stung, followed by a numbing sensation that was only aggravated by the coldness.

     She whirled around, and found herself face to face with a blue floating creature with weird eyes and a tail with a sharp tip.

     "SEIFER! THERE'S A KITE-THINGY ATTACKING ME!" She yelled back at him, wasting no time in flinging the Lyrith at it. She had obviously forgotten what this creature was called.

     The beast did not counter-attack. The only thing it did was float in mid-air, its tail swaying back and fro while its eyes remained in a frozen stare, as a result of being hit by Kyra's sleep-junctioned ball.

    Kyra immediately pushed her right palm out, facing it towards the beast. She held the Lyrith with her right hand and pressed the ball against her side.

    A stream of bluish light floated away from the tip of the beast's head, propelled and sucked in by Kyra's body. She smiled slightly in satisfaction when she noted the amount of Blizzaras she had drawn. There were nine, the maximum any human could manage to draw from an enemy.

     "Don't be too complacent, you dumbass!" Seifer scolded her. He almost always seemed to know what she was thinking about! Was she really that easy to read? Kyra could not help being indignant that Seifer was perpetually a step ahead of her.

     "This thing is no match for us!" She smiled. "If it wasn't for its Blizzaras and Curas, it would've been dead and reincarnated the minute my Lyrith graces its unholy body!"

     "It may be weak, but only a fool would turn away from her opponent before the battle is over!"

     "Blah blah blah blah blah! Who would've thought the infamous Seifer Almasy would be such a long-winded uncle in person!" She turned away from him disdainfully, concentrating all her energies on drawing the Blizzaras instead.

    Seifer kept uncharacteristically quiet, realizing the more heed he gave to her comments the more dangerously close his brain was closer to running a hemorrhage. Definitely not worth the time and effort, he was convinced.

    Before long, they had stocked up on the Blizzaras and Curas. After fighting a couple of bite bugs, their stock of Firas reached the requisite one hundred as well.

     "Okay. Now we're all set. Junction Blizzara to your Elemental Attack, Fira to your Elemental Defense, Thundara to Strength, Cura to HP, Sleep to your Status Attack, and Petrify to your Magic." Seifer explained as they continued their path towards the Fire Cavern

     "Hey! I don't need any tutorials on junctioning! If I can beat Ultimecia in the video game with my junctioning skills, I can beat one miserable GF!"

    The second she said the words "one miserable GF", she immediately sensed two particularly sharp glances trying to pierce through her like skewers through marinated meat. Okay, maybe she had the wrong analogy, but it wasn't comfortable to have two laser beams aimed at her, one from Seifer and one from the inside.

    _Miserable… GF?_ Shiva's two simple words were enough to send irrepressible shivers running through her entire body. Every inch of her skin was covered in goose-bumps, the hair standing on end.

    Kyra had the impression all along that making Shiva angry was paramount to encasing oneself in an ice block carved from a thousand-year-old iceberg. At this particular moment, she was reassured that it wasn't an impression based on myth.

    _Of course, I'm talking about the lower-level one at Fire Cavern. Not you, Shiva. Not ever you. I hold the utmost respect for you!_ She tried to sooth the enraged Ice Goddess.

    _Even if he or she is a low level GF, never underestimate a GF's abilities and strength, if you do not want to get killed before your nineteenth birthday._

    Kyra gulped, mentally nodding her head, and let out a sigh of relief. She had gotten off easily from a potentially dangerous situation, after all.

     "You know what your problem is?"

     "What, oh Master Almasy?"

     "You're too full of yourself."

     "Hah! So speaks the Prince of Arrogance himself! Maybe I should rename you Strider Almasy instead!"

     "At least I have the right to be arrogant! What about you? You barely manage to handle a Mid-level spell, and already you think you're Hyne's Gift to Cotta!"

     "I…"

     "Let me get this straight with you. _This_ is not a game. HELL NO. If you do not shake off the mentality that battles are a piece of cake just because you are exceptionally adept at the videogame version of the real world, then I'm sorry. You won't last thirty seconds with the GF.

       Guardian Forces are not to be trifled with. They are obviously called as such because they are powerful in their own way. One wrong move, and you're dust. And when you're dust, no amount of Life, or even Full-Life spells can bring you back to life. Remember that!"  
    All was silent for a while she digested Seifer and Shiva's warnings, her hands absently playing with the ball.

     "You're right. Maybe I'm underestimating the GF. But in no way do I think this is a game. I am very well aware that this is a life-threatening task for me." She stopped rolling the ball around, and stopped walking.

    He turned to face her with a quizzical expression when he sensed that she had stopped.

     "BUT. I do not believe in displaying my fear for everyone to see. Do you think I'm really so dam casual about it as I appear to be?" She shook her head. "Seifer, you should learn to see beyond a person's outer layer expression, and look into them, understand what they really mean or feel."

    She grinned. "And that is but one move to get closer to Instructor Trepe. She is very adept in hiding her inner layer expressions, you know."

     "Her inner layer has nothing to do with me." He barked, stalking off again.

      "Suit yourself." She managed to catch up and walk shoulder to shoulder with the lanky man – figuratively speaking though, since she was a few inches shorter than him.

    She eyed him slyly, smiling not-so-secretively to herself.

     "And WHAT the hell are you smiling about?"

     "Hey, what I'm smiling about is none of your business. Oh alright. I was only marveling that if you didn't open your mouth, you'd be a real cool bishie."

     "Whatever the hell that is."

     "Wanna know? It means pretty young man, literally! It's not everyday I use such endearing terms on someone, you know?"

     "Say that again and I'll break your teeth." He snarled, gripping her arm tightly.

     "BITEBUG!" She yelled, slamming the irritating insect hovering behind Seifer with her ball, scrunching her nose in disgust. The smashed carcass of the bug was splattered all over the ball's otherwise pristinely white surface.

    By the time she noticed, Seifer was already many strides ahead of her.

     "Eh wait for me!" She screamed after him. "I killed that bitebug for you! The least you could do was wait!"  
    He stopped in front of a cave-like entrance, ignoring her noisy scream.

     "We're here."

     "Well. This certainly looks different from the game." She peered warily at the huge opening in awe.

    Without a word, he walked straight into the entrance.

     "Cool. It's 3-D! Not some pixel-led black round thing! And there's so much more detail!" She babbled, not caring that the only replies Seifer gave was a series of grunts and the sound of his boot clacking on the rocky path. "And it's definitely a whole lot hotter!"

     "Well, Duh!" He rolled his eyes, suppressing the urge to seal her mouth with a punch. He couldn't remember when was the last time any one had grated on his nerves as much as she did. Usually _he_ was the one who did the grating!

   And then a thought hit him, and left him amazed at how much of a genius he was at exposing her weak spots.

     "Wait… don't tell me you're sc—ar—ed! Hahaha!" The echoing of his rough laughter filled the hole and bounced around the walls, creating a harrowing effect that seemed to be magnified by the dark, smoky interior of the Cavern.

     "Have you junctioned Blizzara to your Elemental Attack and Fira to your defense?" He reminded her again.

     "YES! For the nth time, yes! I know the mechanics of junctioning very well, thank you very much!"

     "Alright, let's go in—what the?" He jolted to a stop when he spotted someone standing in their way.

     "I am here to time your efforts." Quistis walked from her concealed place in the shadows towards them.

     "Contrary to previous procedure, you will not be required to choose a time for the completion of your task. As such, you will not be penalized for completing it before the time limit runs out."

     "At last you're making sense. I have never understood the point of having such a restrictive system in all the previous Pre-requisites."  
     "Yeah, Baby! I always get penalized in the game for beating Ifrit waaay before the shortest time limit. I just can't waste time, even when I try to."

    They looked at her strangely. She didn't know which part of her speech they were reacting to.

     "What?" She blinked at them.

     "You speak exceedingly like Chicken-wuss sometimes."

     "I don't appreciate being called 'Baby'. It's Instructor Trepe to you."

     "Okay, okay! Slip of the tongue! Don't get on my case for something as trivial as that!" She exclaimed irritably. "I'm ready, Instructor Trepe."

     "As I am."

     "Good. You time starts—now!"

    As she pressed down the buttons of the stopwatch, the two cadets did not waste any time running into the Cavern.

    They were halted in their path by two particularly offensive Bombs.

     "I hate Bombs!" Kyra whined, but attacked one of the Bombs with her ball at the same time.

      "Quit complaining!" Seifer unleashed a Blizzaga at the other Bomb. The explosion of ice shards pierced and punctured through its leathery-red hide, leading to its unfortunate end as it was reduced to nothing more than a few scattered pieces of bomb fragments.

     "Sucker-punch Ball!" Kyra unleashed a multiple attack at the remaining Bomb, snuffling it out in no time with her Blizzara-encased weapon.

     "Piece of cake!" She declared triumphantly, hugging the ball tightly despite of the coldness surrounding it.

   Seifer opened his mouth to lecture her, but his lips quirked into a grin when he noticed that her legs were shaking ever so slightly.

     "Having cold feet, are we? Maybe we should forget about going in."

     "What cold feet? What _are_ you talking about? I can't wait to beat the living daylights out of that GF! Let's go!"

    She blazed a trail deeper into the cavern, littering the path with carcasses of Buels and Bombs adventurous enough to obstruct her way.

    They stopped in front of a smoky pit, gurgling with underground lava. Hisses of steam shot up from the molten rock crackling under the heat and gasses, clogging up the air with ash and smoke.

      "So here we are. At the pit." Kyra said aloud, attempting to get used to the impure quality of the air.

     "Are you ready?" Seifer asked her.

    She took a deep breath, and ended up coughing violently.

     "Yep." She grinned forcibly.

    Seifer nodded, picked up a rock form the ground, and threw it into the pit.

    Nothing happened. They waited. For half a minute. For one minute. No GF, just the smoke and the pit.

     "What is the meaning of all this? Where's the GF? You mean we came all this way for nothing?"

     "Be patient. Maybe it's still sleeping."

     "Then bloody wake it up!" She picked up a chunk the size of her palm and hurled it into the pit.

     "And you shall bear the consequences of that shortly." Seifer said half-seriously. "Don't say I never warned you."

    As if to prove his point, an enraged shriek-yell-scream of sorts pierced through the hazy air.

    A huge figure shot up from the pit, towering over them. Its impressive size and the dark shadows covering its face were intimidating enough to almost cause Kyra to wet her cargo shorts. Almost, but not quite. Thankfully she had always been in complete control of her bladder.

     "Who! Who has the gall to disrupt my sleep? Lack of sleep is the greatest enemy to beautiful skin! YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!"

    Kyra released the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. The GF's comment had effectively dispelled most of the fear that threatened to loosen her bladder a moment ago. Who could take the GF seriously, if her opening threat was about beauty sleep?

    Upon closer inspection, "it" was obviously a "she". In fact, she looked rather humanoid, except she had dancing flames for hair and red, glowing coals for eyes.

     "I did. And how will you make me pay then?" Kyra openly challenged the GF, emboldened after deciding that her opponent didn't seem so menacing after all.

    The GF ignored her, heading straight for Seifer instead.

     "Ooh what do we have here? A handsome little one! Shall I offer my services to you then?" She cooed flirtatiously at Seifer.

    He laughed uproariously, amused that his charm would reach even a GF. It was definitely a most soothing stroke of the ego for him.

     "No. She is the one who requires your service. I am only here to aid her." He pointed towards Kyra.

    The GF cast a disdainful glance at Kyra.

     "Not before she beats me."

    It was no small surprise, then, that Kyra was stewing at the fiery GF's remarks and especially at the deliberate ignorance of her presence just moments ago.

     "As you wish, bitch." She snarled, launching the ball towards her without any hesitation.

     "NEVER call a Guardian Force a bitch! You won't live to regret it!" The GF tried to catch the ball. As it grinded against her palm, bright blue sparks crackled and hissed against her crimson skin, setting off in blinding flashes like a mini fireworks display.

     "IT STINGS! IT STINGS! GET IT AWAY FROM ME!" She flung the ball back towards Kyra, examining whatever damage it had done to her skin.

    When the ball fell back into Kyra's hands, she held it still for a moment, closing her eyes in concentration. She pushed a large portion of her latent energy towards her palms, so that the ball could soak it up and increase its whamming power.

     "Blizzaga!" Seifer yelled next to her, making sure that the GF was not spared during the lapse in Kyra's attack.

    The GF cringed, seemingly in deep pain from the third level spell. Her skin turned a deep purplish, with grotesque swellings looming up in quite a few places. Her intense shivering indicated that the spell had not only caused external injuries, but had reached her internal organs as well.

     "You wound my heart by freezing my body, boyo." She peered in a hurt manner at Seifer, concealing any pain she was experiencing. Her expression rapidly turned into one of malicious glee. "But I will make sure you make it up to me for it!"

      "I suggest you stop talking rot when you're up against ME! I am your opponent. Do you think it's wise to turn your back to me in a battle?"

    Without waiting for the GF's reply, Kyra lobbed the Lyrith into the air, purposefully skewing it diagonally towards the GF.

    "Assh0le Energy Ball!" She yelled, giving a slight picture of the kind of attack she had launched towards the GF.

    Seifer watched her running start and palm-to-ball connection while replenishing the energy he spent from casting the spell. He recognized the surprise on the GF's face when the ball veered away from its original path and slammed right into the centre of her forehead, for he knew this was the same kind of surprise he had shown some two weeks ago as he was first hit by Kyra's ball.

    The ball drummed against the GF's skull, attempting to drill a hole through the skin and bone.

     "Get it off!" She shrieked, barely managing to pry it off and slam the ball away from her face.

    Before the ball was even halfway in its return journey to Kyra, Seifer dashed up to the GF and slashed her repeatedly, and masterfully with his Blizzaga-tinged Hyperion.

    The GF tried to slap him away, but he pre-empted her every move, dodging them and carving her skin with neat clean slashes.

    He backed a few steps away from the GF.    

     "Slashing fury!"

    He went into a running start, leapt into the air and attacked nice crucial spots of the GF's body in nano-second succession – the head, the throat, the forearms, the chest, the belly, the calves and lastly, the abdomen.

    This was a new move he had mastered when he finally recognized how much he needed to improve after that monumental battle with Squall Leonhart (and the rest of the party, but that was beside the point). To this day he was still slightly bitter over his defeat. Of course, the fight had been interrupted by Gilgamesh, but he could not help admitting he wasn't exactly on a victory run before his GF had decided to step in and interfere.

    The enemy stumbled, falling on one knee as she took the hits.

    Kyra had not bee idle during the fleeting seconds of Seifer's attack.

    She held the ball in a similar position as her energy gathering stance, but this time, it was not energy that she gathered.

    _Shiva, I need you now._

_    As you wish._

    Within the space of a breath, the ice goddess began her ascension and materialization from Kyra's mind to her full majestic form.

    Sensing her approach as her deity aura intensified around them, Seifer and his disciple jumped a safe distance away from the two battling GFs in avoidance of being caught in the midst of their "cross-fires".

     "So, Rubella. We meet again." Shiva sneered, placing her arms haughtily on her hips.

     "It's Rubielle! How many times do I have to tell you!" The other GF screeched angrily.

     "It wouldn't matter. Your name is of little significance to me."

     "Shiva!" Rubielle gnashed her teeth against each other, almost biting her tongue off in the process. "We will settle our scores today."

     "I have already beaten you numerous times." Shiva returned Rubielle's glare with a complacent smile. "And I have beaten Ifrit, your brother, two years ago. What makes you think this time will be any different?"

     "Don't mention Ifrit in front of me!"

     "What scores are she talking about?" Kyra asked Seifer.

     "How the hell would I know?"

     "There's history between them." Kyra stared intently as her over-ripe imagination started running all sorts of scenarios in her mind. "There's no doubt about that."

   **_What are the scores Rubielle talks about? And why is she so disturbed by the mention of Ifrit? Maybe these'll be answered in the next chapter, but that's all for now, folks._**

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    A/N: I want to point out that in case you have reached the end of the story and there are some glaringly obvious issues that have yet to be resolved, then perhaps it isn't the end yet. Mehehehe. Also, from now onwards, this is less and less of a self-insertion fic. Sure it's still a Mary-Sue, but… (puts up warning sign) "**PLOT TWISTS AHEAD"** MUAHAHAHAHAHA. And you may think that Kyra related her sob story to Zell just to milk some sympathy points but...... perhaps there's more to it than meets the eye. Patience, my friends, patience…

    Now to thank the reviewers:

    Dark Angels: Thanks for the support! I think I've already reduced the waiting time. Hopefully I'll be able to reduce it even further! avows to combat lazy virus

    Legendary Super Candyce: Thanks for your continuous reviewing too! I promise I won't give up this fic… but sometimes it takes me a while to update.

    I have a suggestion. If you would like me to inform you whenever there's an update, just say so in your next review, and I will send you an email whenever there's a new chapter. Just don't put your address in the review, cos it'll attract spam. (I think only registered users are able to see the email addresses in your profile page right?)


	10. Chapter 10 The Adventures of Almasy and ...

**Chapter 10  **

**Adventures of Almasy and Lee – Capture of the GF (Part II)**

    Rubielle lowered her head self-consciously, especially under the freezing stare Shiva pinned her with. And even though she did not show it, she could equally sense the two mortal stares, glittering with hungry interest directed at her. Just because she had just declared "_Don't mention Ifrit in front of me_!" so voraciously a second ago.

     "Ifrit is a worthless piece of trash." She said with a false note of contempt in a superficially airy voice. "He is now serving under a useless boy, who is often compared to a rooster by his peers, and I am inclined to believe said boy's liver is as weak as his nickname suggests. Ifrit is now the laughing stock of our community! Do not compare such a loser to an esteemed being such as myself!" She smirked, unaware of the hate glare directed her way by one of said mortals, or the similar smirk on the other's.

    She let fly a burst of black flames towards Shiva. The Blizzaga Goddess' ravishing face registered mild surprise upon contact with the searing  tongues that licked hungrily at her skin, barbequing it to a blackened shade. She quickly recovered, curing herself with a little sprinkle of Blizzaga powder before launching her counterattack immediately.

     "Blizzaga Shower!" Shiva flung out her arms, commanding a sheet of ice to hover over the flame-wielding Rubielle.

    She paused.

     "I've been taking lessons from Siren." She said with a wicked smile.

    Then she opened her mouth, and the next thing they knew, a shrill, continuous sound emitted from the deep confines of her diaphragm and sent everyone covering their ears for protection.

    The sheet of ice shattered and descended upon Rubielle, the crystalline shards, although tiny in shape, were akin to a million frigid pricklings lodged onto every inch of her body. Only it stung her so badly she could only twitch like a maggot, too sapped of energy to do anything else. The onslaught of Blizzaga-induced shivers stabbed her to the core, her heart, quelling a major portion of the dark fire that fuelled her energy.

    Just as Shiva returned to Kyra's mind once again, the duo wasted no time in dashing back to face off with Rubielle, who was rendered numb and defenseless by Shiva's retaliation, unable to lift a finger to cast a fire spell to cure herself.

    "Shiva!" From the way she uttered the name of her arch-nemesis, it was clear that Rubielle was far from accepting her defeat in the hands of the icy GF.

     "YOU! Sore-loser of a GF! I _heard_ what you just said about Zell! I won't take that lying down!"

    Kyra balanced her ball on one palm, while placing the other over it, and muttered a short phrase over the ball. A translucent glow rose above and around the ball, forming a protective shield capable of fending off the fiercest of flames. A crackling sound perpetuated the air. A split second later, giant spikes protruded from the ball's surface, carrying an icy mist over the air simultaneously.

    She tossed it into the air and kicked the ball with a loud thump of her foot, letting it sail towards Rubielle.

    The ball latched itself firmly onto Rubielle's left chest, groveling deeper into her flesh where the spikes had pierced her flesh and aimed for a very specific spot – her heart.

    With a low guttural growl, Rubielle plucked it away savagely just before it could disappear wholly within her, ignoring the fierce and yet at the same time numbing pain to her fingers each time she touched the spikes.

    She managed to pull the ball out, but two of its spikes had snapped, and were stuck too deeply into her chest to be extracted.

     "No fair!" Rubielle whined like the sore loser she was, tossing the ball away and clutching at her chest where the spikes were attached. "You didn't announce your move before attacking!"

    Kyra merely grunted.

    _Announcing your move when you're planning a surprise attack is something only idiots like you would do. Not only does it waste time, it takes away the element of surprise. Kiss my ass._

     "Triple!" Seifer's yell penetrated her thoughts. A fuchsia ring of light encircled Kyra. She could feel a slight tugging within her mind, her sensors communicating to her brain the expansion of her spiritual capacity to thrice its original size.

    "Blizzara!"

    "Blizzaga!"   __

    Within the next few minutes, Rubielle could barely move her lungs to change her breath, let alone fend off or counter the mini blizzard-storm created by the rapid, seamless succession of the spells. Holding up a feeble arm to block the coldness from her face, she squinted through the ice, shooting a vengeful glare at her assailants.

     Rubielle crashed to the ground, silent and unable to move save for the little spasms channeling through her body. After a bout of sporadic twitches, she finally closed her eyes and laid still after a heavy shudder.

     "You think we finished her off?" Kyra turned to Seifer. "Pathetic fight, though. All it took was Shi—"

    She did not get to finish her sentence. A searing hand slapped across her front and pushed her off the ground, at the same time poking through her like a spear through wild boar flesh. She only stopped when she banged against the rocky wall, her body crumpling haplessly on the ground like a piece of unwanted paper.

    Seifer was hit by the same wave of heat, but only suffered from a little push generated as an aftershock. The attack itself dealt no real damage, courtesy of  his heat-absorbing junctions, something which Kyra's mid-level magic could not handle.

     "Not bad, little boy." Rubielle grinned menacingly, taking her time to get onto her feet. Which meant she had delivered her limit break _while_ lying down, quite a feat by any standards. "To be unaffected by my limit break, Infernal Shockwave. It has been known to burn even the strongest of boulders to ashes, and yet you look none the worse-for-wear, if only a little dusty."

    She smirked. "I would've gladly accepted you as my charge. I can see that you are not just any ordinary Cadet or SeeD. But that one—" She pointed a sharp fingernail at Kyra. "—Unless she can convince me by beating me without the help of Shiva, I shall not follow her willingly."

    "Thank you for your compliment. But my purpose here is to act as her support, not to acquire a GF myself. As for your challenge, it only goes to show how afraid of Shiva you are." Seifer smirked outwardly, but inside, the temperature of his blood had long been raised to the boiling point and beyond. He never took kindly to anyone calling him a boy, especially since it dug up memories he would rather bury forever.

   The adrenaline-pumped fury rushing through his veins provided the pulsating energy he needed for his ultimate move, without the need of an Aura spell or even a single scratch from Rubielle against him. It had never taken long to provoke him into limit-break readiness, really. Much shorter than it took for normal  people, perhaps due to the anger-management issues Kyra had cheekily pointed out.

    _I am no boy…_ He gritted his teeth, summoning an offensive spell without so much as a warning glance. He bombarded her with Blizzaga instead of his usual Firaga magic, in consideration that the Firaga would only heal Rubielle.

    Rubielle seemed to be prepared for the Blizzaga this time. From the time Seifer finished his speech, she placed her sensors on the alert for sudden movements. The moment her skin sensed the slightest change in temperature, she had seen it coming

    She thrust out a hand to counter his Blizzaga with a burst of Firaga, billowing smoke perpetuating the air as the two opposing elements clashed against each other.

    But she had never seen Seifer at his best, and would not anticipate that the spell was only a smokescreen for the other part of his attack.

    _Demon Slice._ He narrowed his gaze at Rubielle, swiping his knife in a circular motion in the air, before launching his body and knife in a whirlwind motion towards the enemy. His Hyperion sparked off beautiful swirls of light in the smoky air, the sharpness of its blade catching a glint in his steely blue eyes as it sliced through her flesh in relentless yet stunning spirals.

    He finished it off with one last strike, powerful enough to lift her slightly into the air and plummet to the ground with an earthquake-worthy boom.

     "Save some for me, Master Almasy." A female voice piped up behind him.

     "About time you woke up." Seifer was somehow glad he didn't have to waste his time and magic inventory in reviving her.

     "I accept your challenge, Rubielle." Kyra said, her voice low but threatening.

     "Ah. At least you got my name right. Show me what you've got, little girl."

    Kyra did not reply to her taunt.

    She released the charging current in her bloodstream, a force she had held back in anticipation of the precise moment to let go. It gushed wildly, galloping about like a stallion in search of the perfect plains. The exaltation garnered from its furious channeling was almost too overwhelming, quickening her breath to near-hyperventilation status.

    And then it happened.

    The milky glow that surrounded her in a cloak-like aura, positively empowering her with the charge it was giving off.

    The ball flew high. She jumped even higher,  above the ball's peak of flight, aided by the powerful thrust given by her internal current. She swung her arm round and round for momentum, somersaulting towards her ball and flipped it towards Rubielle with every ounce of strength she had, down to the last little crackling current of latent energy.

    As had happened with the T-Rex, Rubielle's chest, where Kyra had specifically aimed the ball at, appeared to groove inwards as if it was supported by malleable plaster instead of bone. Of course, it was met with much more resistance than the T-Rex could offer, but Kyra persisted, willing the ball to push against the resistance with an almost deranged concentration.

    The force driving the ball against Rubielle seemed to be linked to her will, groveling harder against the Guardian Force's chest.

    Rubielle scratched and pushed against the ball, shrieking and growling simultaneously, her mind attempting to find an explanation as to the reason her chest was denting inwards without her consent. Her body, her muscles, her flesh… it was reacting _against_ her!

    It didn't help that the icy mist surrounding the ball stung her badly.

     "AHHH!!! What is this thing! Why can't I get it off!" She screamed.

    Her scream escalated into ear-drum tearing proportions.

    The ball finally made a breakthrough, bursting into her chest cavity with a wet sound of tearing skin and muscles, followed by the shattering of bone marrow.

    "Blizzara Explosion!" Kyra shouted.

    A shockwave erupted from within the Guardian Force's chest. Long spikes of ice protruded from her chest, through her back, and one particularly thick one piercing through her throat.

    A rivulet of maroon trickled from a corner of Rubielle's mouth.

    A quiet prelude to what was about to happen.

    She hacked violently, a shower of blood bursting out of her mouth to splatter all over the surrounding air.

    Suddenly the internal structure of her body was exposed for all to see.

    A huge hole extending from her mid-chest to abdomen yawned wide in Seifer and Kyra's vision, blood and innards dripping from the mangled mass that was previously her torso.

     "You…" Rubielle gritted her teeth, glaring at Kyra before collapsing facedown, the impact of her falling body making several wide cracks on the shaking ground.

    Kyra stepped forward tentatively, prodding Rubielle with her boot. The GF's head lolled about unresponsively.

     "Does this mean I win?" Kyra turned back to look at Seifer, grinning smugly with an expression that clearly revealed her expectation of his praise.

     "I suppose so." He said blandly, letting her expectations down without so much of a second thought. "But you've taken up a hell lot more time than necessary."

    _She's got a good move with that ball of hers yet._

     "Wake up! You have yet to pledge your loyalty to your grand highness!" Kyra ignored his criticism, shaking Rubielle's shoulder roughly to rouse her back to consciousness.

    The GF emitted a small moan.

     "Fine. You have defeated me without Shiva's assistance. I shall keep to my promise…. On one condition."

     "What?"

     "I will not tolerate sharing the same space with that Prima Donna."

     "Oh yeah. Seifer said you're afraid of her. That shouldn't pose a problem."

     "I am NOT afraid of her. I'm just not in the mood for another conflict." Rubielle gestured tiredly. "I've had enough fighting for today."

     "Whatever you say." Kyra sniggered, and closed her eyes briefly, unjunctioning the Ice Goddess as she did.

     "There, you can go in now."

    Rubielle bowed towards her new charge, and performed a small ritual before disappearing to take up occupancy in Kyra's mind.

    _Rule number one, Rubielle._

_     Oh, setting rules so soon, eh?_

_    I believe for us to become the invincible team we aspire towards, we have to set some ground rules first. You list yours, I list mine. Agreeable?_

_     Fair enough._

_    Rule number one… never talk ill of Zell in my presence. And I mean never. That is paramount to committing the highest act of disloyalty in my books._

_     Ahhh…_

Kyra could detect a hint of understanding in her tone. She realized then that Rubielle was not as difficult to get along with as she had anticipated based on first impression.

    _I suppose I should do the same for Ifrit too then._

_      I can't care less about Ifrit._ Rubielle replied in a quiet tone.

_   If you say so... _

Kyra paused, trying to keep a lid on the various questions running through her mind. She was almost certain that there was something about Rubielle and Ifrit that wasn't so simple, and Rubielle was hell bent on keeping it under wraps. But she chose to respect Rubielle's unspoken but evident wish for secrecy.

_   But I have to warn you Don't grow too comfortable staying in my mind. You may be transferred to Seifer shortly, if everything goes to plan._

_    Oooh I like that boy. _Rubielle quipped.

    Kyra laughed.

_     I don't suppose you'd be willing to divulge the reason?_

_  Don't worry. You shall discover in due time, IF you're attentive enough._

     "Are we done wasting time already?" Seifer tapped his foot in annoyance, turning sharply with a swish of his trench-coat.

    For the past minute Kyra had only been standing at one spot, staring off into air and doing nothing else, except for that one laugh, but he knew that she was probably conversing with the new GF.

     "Don't forget we're still under timing."

     Kyra blinked at the sound of his voice, turning to look at him in a confused manner.

     "Oh right. Let's go then." She grinned, before turning and walking ahead of him towards the returning path.

    Their journey back was much faster than their entrance, unobstructed by the habitants of the cavern. Their capture of  the Cavern Mistress had sent a most effective deterrent to any which dwelled in the cave. The beasts had apparently grown brains and decided to give these two intruders a wide berth.

    Of course, Kyra holding up her Blizzara-protected ball and waving it around helped to speed things up tremendously.

    They burst out of the cavern fifteen seconds later, short of breath and heavy of sweat.

    Kyra fell to the ground, lying haphazardly and uncaring of the dust coating her skin and clothes.

     "Wake me when we're ready to go." She muttered, shutting her eyes with little effort.

     "Five minutes twenty two seconds." Quistis read out the time on her stopwatch. "Not bad. I'm impressed."

     "It would've been faster if she used her move earlier, or if she hadn't wasted time 'bonding' with the new GF."

    Kyra's eyes flipped open, the glowering fire in contrast with the rest of her limp body.

     "Mr Almasy! Did you not know what the term 'limit break' means? It means it only comes when one is suitably injured, provoked, or aura-ed! Not everyone is like you! Not everyone has anger-management problems! At least _I_ don't! So don't go around expecting everyone to be able to generate a limit break just like that!" She stopped, trying to catch her breath from the too ambitious bout of ranting. "I saw no earlier cause for its usage before she used her Infernal whatever!!!"

     "You mean, you had to use your limit break?" Quistis raised an amused eyebrow. "Neither Squall nor I had to use ours when we acquired Ifrit."

     "Well, I wouldn't have to use it if she hadn't insisted I beat her without Shiva's help. Speaking of which… I have to return Shiva to you, Instructor Trepe"

    Kyra sat up, and closed her eyes, pushing a palm out towards Quistis' direction.

    A bright sapphire-tinted glow lifted from Kyra's body, floating over to Quistis. Quistis accepted the transfer by similarly holding out a palm, allowing the glow to enter her body and settle itself within her mind.

    _What do you think of her, Shiva?_ Quistis asked upon re-junctioning Shiva.

    _ The girl is nothing exceptional. But she has two rather strong spiritual entities by her side. Dangerous, yet useful if manipulated correctly. A double-edged sword, if you may._

_    And what about the new Guardian Force?_

    Shiva snorted lightly, and Quistis could detect a mild contempt as she spoke.

      _As weak as her brother was, although she did manage to wound the surface of my hair._

_    Mmmph… maybe. If she's so easily defeated by a two-week old cadet._

_      Exactly._

    Quistis turned towards her students.

    "Alright. Let's head back to the Garden then."

     "Oh… erm… you guys go ahead. I need to build up my compatibility with my new GF. Heh." Kyra grinned sheepishly at Quistis.

    Seifer stared at her suspiciously. He found her manner unnatural and stinkier than Balamb Fish.

     She quickly shifted her glance away.

     "No, really. I don't usually have a chance to run around in the wilderness. It'd do me good to bond more with Hyne's natural resources. And maybe I can draw more spells while I'm at it." She poked Seifer at the side.

     "Ow! What do you think you're doing?"

    Discreetly, she pointed and gestured furiously at Quistis, who had turned her head to look towards another direction.

     "I don't understand." Seifer shook his head, scowling fiercely at her, just as Quistis turned back to look at them.

     "Excuse us a second." She smiled at Quistis through gritted teeth, and pulled him aside. Quistis quirked an eyebrow, puzzled by their behavior but decided against asking them.

     "This is a rare chance for you to be alone with Quistis Trepe. Make sure you make full use of it!" She whispered harshly.

    Seifer's eyebrows clashed together at her words.

     "What the fuck are you talking about? Don't waste time on meaningless shit!"

     "I hardly call that meaningless! And really, I need to build up a rapport with Rubielle. Now go." She pushed him towards Quistis. "AND DON'T SQUANDER IT!"

     "You really don't need us with you, Kyra?" Quistis turned and called out to her.

     "No, no! Go ahead! I'll be fine. I did acquire a GF by myself, you know!"

     "Yeah, yeah, BRAG about it. Who was the one who almost died inside! You were just lucky that I was there to attack your GF for you while you were unconscious!"

     "Yes yes, you're my life savior! I shall lick your boots when we get back to Garden, but for now just shoo! Go away! Ahh, there's a bitebug! Don't you just hate those? I'll be your bug exterminator… now go!" She waved them off, pointing towards a bug hovering at least six metres away.

    She smiled fondly as she watched the two blonde heads bobbing together, walking towards the direction of Balamb Garden, completely forgetting about the bitebug nearing her.

       _I'm surprised. I thought **he** was your love interest._

_    Oh please! HIM? Get your eyes checked! What would I see in a brash man like him?!!_

_     Why not? He's tall, handsome, handles himself extremely well, and not to mention he saved your ass from getting fried after you fell dead to my Infernal Shockwave._

_   HELLO! I saved myself, alright?_

_     Sure you did. I guess you're lucky though. If you pitted yourself against that lady, you lose right from the start._

_   Hehehe. Why so?_

_     Are you blind? The chemistry between them is so intense even their auras are attracted to each other!_

_    That's what I thought too! Hahahaha. That's why I let them go back first!_

_      Smart girl._

_    But of course._

_      What I don't understand is, how you can choose that Dintch Boy over him._

_    RUBIELLE!!!_

_      Alright, alright. Rule Number 1, is it? At least you won't be facing such stiff competition from the likes of Quistis Trepe._

     "That's where you're wrong…" Kyra muttered aloud, creasing her brow as she thought of something that obviously bothered her.

     "HIYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAK!!!!" She yelled, splattering the bug with her ball, the force applied a tad too much for the extermination of a mere bitebug. The spinning ball created a bare tuft in place of the lush green grass that had previously grown there.

    Rubielle was quick to catch onto her changed temperament, and wisely kept any comments to herself.

    Kyra curved her lips with a little smile. Rubielle's little act of consideration had not gone unnoticed by her.

_    Let's run a few rounds before we go back, shall we?_

_      Whatever you wish for, Lady Kyra._

_    Pleaseee do not call me that. It's uber weird. Just Kyra will do, thank you very much. I have a feeling we will get along very well, Rubielle. _

_     I concur._

   ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

     "So…"

     "So!"

    Both of them lifted their heads in surprise of hearing the other's voice mingling with his/her own.

     "You first." Quistis smiled and nodded politely.

     "Okay. So does this mean that I am absolved of the obligation of tutoring Kyra from now on?" Seifer went ahead with his question, not stopping to think that it would have been more polite to offer Quistis the chance as well.

      "Why are you so anxious to be rid of this obligation? Are you scared of her, or you find yourself unable to handle her the way you wanted?" She asked in a laughing tone, lifting her eyebrows questioningly.

      "Scared? Me? This is Seifer Almasy you're talking to! Not some chicken-livered imposter! Why should I be scared of anything?" He lifted his arms up in an exaggerated manner. "I just think she's a fucking thorn in my ass that I want to be rid of as soon as possible!"

     "Mind your language, Seifer Almasy. We're still on a field trip, and I have the authority to punish you if I should deem fit." She stared sternly at him. "But seeing that you've behaved yourself rather well lately, I will not pursue the matter. As for the absolving of your obligation… that'll have to wait until we get back to Garden, and I shall announce the results in front of everyone."

    Seifer restrained himself from spouting some smart-assed comment or insult to her words. Not because he was afraid of any _punishment_ that she might deal to him, but only a couple of Kyra's cheeky lines were now encircling his mind. As badly as he wanted to shake them off, they stuck to his thoughts like chewing gum on public benches.

      "_Find out her inner-layer expression!"_

_     "This is a rare chance for you to be alone with Quistis Trepe. Make sure you make full use of it!"_

_     "DON'T SQUANDER IT!! IT!!! IT!!!"_

    Seifer scowled and shook his head, trying not to let the sounds influence him, but to little avail.

    His little action only caused Quistis to peer at him in concern.

     "Are you alright, Seifer?" She asked, automatically assuming that he had been shaking his head due to discomfort.

     "Yeah." He answered gruffly, keeping his gaze stoically at the path in front.

    They trudged their way through the plains, occasionally battling any beasts stupid enough to obstruct their path. No word was exchanged between them for a spell, with only the treads of their boots against the grass and sounds of nature peppering the air.

    Quistis cleared her throat, attempting to break the awkward silence.

      "So… do you think you can pass the SeeD Exam this time?"

    Seifer turned his head to look at her, taken aback that she had breached the subject, an extremely sensitive subject as far as he was concerned, so suddenly. Her tone seemed almost casual, but he knew it took quite a bit of guts to say it, especially since it would surely bring up memories she would've liked to write away herself.

     "I don't need _your_ reminders about my failed attempts." He muttered lowly, turning his gaze back to its original activity of staring straight ahead.

     "Good. You know this is your last chance. Don't jeopardize it by disregarding your orders _this_ time." Quistis continued staring at him.

     "What a fine way to encourage your student, Instructor Trepe." He whipped his head towards her and smirked. "Has it ever occurred to you that maybe, just maybe, a little 'I'm sure you can do it' would have achieved a much better effect than telling me not to jeopardize my chances? Who in their right fucking mind would want to fail?'

    He lengthened his strides, easily stretching the distance between them

    "But of course!" He lifted his arms in the air, throwing his head back as he laughed loudly towards the sky. "_It's Seifer Almasy we're talking about. He doesn't deserve encouragement. All he deserves are demerit points, detention, and being guinea-pig for my shift-the-problem-students-around operations_!!_ He will never ever pass the Exam! I am just wasting my time, but I will play Good Instructor and ask him if he thinks he will pass the SeeD exam anyway!_" He altered his voice into a squeaky tone, obviously mocking Quistis by trying to imitate her.

    Quistis frowned, quickening her speed to catch up with him.

     "Why do you always have to be so objectionable?"

     "Only because I don't know how to curry your favour, My Dear Instructor."

     "What are you talking about? That's two entirely different matters! All I'm asking of you, is to follow your orders and not attempt to boost your pneumatic ego further by trying to prove yourself as the superior one!" Quistis paused, taking a breather from her rant before continuing. "SeeD is about teamwork, Seifer. Not just individual achievement. If every SeeD were act like you, then Garden would've been eliminated from the mercenary institution market a long time ago."

     "You speak as if you know me so well. You fit me in this little pigeon-hole in your head, and start assuming such and such reason for every behavioral pattern I display. Well let me tell you, Instructor, not everyone appreciates being fed under your analyzing machine." He stopped, swatting a few bitebugs away with a mere swish from the handle of his gunblade.

     "The least of all me." He held her gaze coldly, his pupils seeming to harden and freeze over.

    Quistis found she couldn't look away.

     "I'm not analyzing you."

    _I'm trying to understand you._

    She blinked.

    _Where did that come from?_

    He continued looking at her, but his expression seemed to soften a little.

    "I won't fail this time. This much I can promise you." He muttered, before averting his eyes, and heading towards the Garden again.

    Quistis was left staring at the flying dust in his wake, turning his words over and over in her mind.

    _He… made me a promise?_ The corners of her mouth twitched a little. She didn't know how to react to his promise. Her heartbeat experienced a little irregularity when she tried to run his words through her mental lie-detector to ascertain if he really meant it. Or if this was even the Seifer Almasy she knew of.

    _But really, how much do I know him?_

    Seifer was by then only a tiny figure in the distance, for at full speed only few could rival the distance his never-ending legs could cover.

    "Damn that guy. Does he ever spare a thought for his shorter-legged companions?" She grumbled to herself.

    _If he did he wouldn't be Seifer Almasy._

_    True, Shiva. Sad but true._

She trotted after Seifer with wind blowing through her hair and the morning sun illuminating her golden hair.

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  A/N:  Well, there you have it. Kinda abrupt ending to the chapter, but if I don't end it here, it's gonna run into nightmarish length. And since it's so abrupt, I'll try and make it up to you by posting the next chapter faster hopes lazybumtism doesn't assault her again

    Thanks to all who reviewed the last chappeh. I'd like to individually thank all of you with wild gushes of praise and gratitude, but the mind is hardly functioning now, sorry.

    Till the next time,

     Tulip


	11. Chapter 11 Rising Stakes

**Chapter 11 – Rising Stakes**

Woah… I know I've been a lazy bum for too long. But however lazy I am, I promised I would finish this story, and I will. I'm grateful and apologetic for anyone who's waited this long; this chapter is dedicated to you. I hope you enjoy.

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"Congratulations. You are now officially a candidate for the next SeeD exam."

"Yay! Yay! Yay! Yay!" Kyra jumped around in effervescent exuberance, hugging everyone in sight, which included Quistis, Seifer, Irvine, Selphie and of course, Zell.

Selphie was ignited by her effusiveness and started jumping around too, except for entirely different reasons.

_YAY We're one step closer to sending her away! _Selphie exchanged knowing looks with Irvine, who was all but grinning ear to ear at the impish expression on Selphie's face.

"Hey, I said candidate. I didn't say you passed the SeeD exam." Quistis chided Kyra sternly, but it did nothing to calm her down.

"Idiot." Seifer stretched out languidly in his seat, looking at the ceiling as if asking Hyne how on Cotta had he gotten stuck with this kind of pupil. He swiveled his glance towards Quistis. "So I gather that the tutorship is effectively at its end?"

"As promised, I have proposed to the committee to strike off your black marks."

"Proposed? WHAT THE EFF DO YOU MEAN BY PROPOSED? You didn't mention a word about _proposed_ when we struck the deal!" Seifer leapt up from his seat in agitation.

"Hyne, Seifer. As a Garden Cadet for more than a decade, you should know _EVERYTHING_ has to follow protocol. All the more so with '_special cases_' like these. In any case, your 'good deed' will not go unnoticed in the evaluation of your final exam score."

"Fine! So may I _please_ have your _permission_ to go now, _Instructor_?" Seifer asked, attempting to get a rise out of Quistis with his mocking tone.

Quistis nodded to Seifer's request, deliberately choosing to ignore his challenge.

"_YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY! YAY_!" Seifer uttered in an exceptionally squeaky voice, obviously mocking his ex-pupil as well.

"SEIFER ALMASY!" Kyra flung her ball at his face in retaliation. Seifer, distracted by his little imitation act, could not react fast enough to dodge the ball, earning a nosebleed for himself.

"HEY! What's the big idea? Is that the way you thank your gracious master?" Seifer wiped at his nose savagely with the back of his hand. "Don't forget you couldn't have passed WITHOUT ME!"

"NO ONE makes a mockery of me without receiving some pain, no matter if you're Seifer Almasy or… or… Ramius Wolfgang!"

"Who the hell is that?" Seifer sneered, while the rest raised questioning eyebrows at her. She simply shrugged and smiled sheepishly, which only made her behaviour even more unnatural.

"I have to say, you deserved that, Seifer old buddy." Zell broke in and grinned, highly amused by the reddened state of Seifer's swollen nose.

"Who's your old buddy, huh, Chicken-wuss? Nobody asked for your opinion, so you best shut that shit hole in your face!"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME! DISRESPECT TO A SEED! I'LL HAVE YOU REPORTED TO THE DC!"

Zell stepped up to Seifer, glaring down at him with the fiercest look he could muster and his fists clenched tightly by his side. Seifer stared back unflinchingly, taunting at Zell to up the ante further with a slow, insolent smirk that made his face seem like an unbearably nice beanbag for punching practice.

"Cut it out! " Quistis stepped in between them just as they were on the verge of exchanging blows. "Zell, don't stoop down to his level. You're SeeD. You're supposed to be able to control your emotions better."

Zell paused a bit, before slowly lowering the fist that he was about to "introduce" to Seifer's nose, with immense difficulty. He bared his teeth at an obviously displeased Seifer, before flopping down onto his seat, crossing his arms while he attempted to curb his temper.

"_Zell, don't stoop down to his level you're SeeD blahdiblahdiblahImtheBlondeInstructorhearmenag…" _Seifer was obviously on a roll trying to get on everyone's nerves.

Quistis appeared to be exceptionally unperturbed that morning, choosing again to feign blindness at his attempt to rile her up, instead looking him over with a cool gaze, before resting it on Kyra.

"Both of you. The best of your training is over, but do not forget your ultimate goal is to pass the SeeD exam. There is only one month left. Make use of it." She caught their glances to drive in her point.

"Especially you, Kyra. You are still very unstable in your foundation. Most of the candidates have at least six to eight years of training before they even attempted the pre-requisite, even myself included. You are to soak in every bit of practical experience in this one month. Your training should be even more intensive than the program Seifer had set out for you, because that is only the basics among the basics. Repeat all those mini-case test scenarios if necessary." She paused, before turning to Seifer.

"And Seifer. I expect you to continue helping if she comes to you for guidance."

"WHAT? The agreement was to tutor her until she passes the test! And she did. Okay? You said so yourself!"

"But there was no test." Quistis said calmly, her face as tranquil as her voice.

Seifer stared at her. He felt cheated beyond belief, his indignation bursting upon his face in a reddened flush that was beginning to have the faintest tinge of purple at the height of his aggravation. He opened his mouth to protest, shut it, then opened it again in a series of goldfish like movements before clamping it one final time as he realized he would not be able to rebuke her. The alarmingly thick vein in his forehead looked as if it was on the verge of bursting.

Everyone else in the office was having fun eagerly observing his reaction.

"Seifer, a 'refusal to cooperate with Instructor' would look rather bad on your evaluation."

"_You_…" Seifer glared at Quistis, then at Kyra, then back at Quistis pointing his index finger at her, but found it hard to continue his accusation.

"Yes, Seifer?" Quistis replied "innocently".

Seifer knew he was no match for her, not at this moment, although he wouldn't admit it.

"FUCK YOU ALL!" A resounding crack reverberated as he kicked Quistis' desk, letting out a low grunt as it proved sturdier than he thought, and stalked out of office with a slight hobble and a string of curses under his breath.

"That's what he gets for tricking me!" Quistis said when she was certain Seifer had gone out of earshot. She had recalled the silent protest incident with some chagrin, even up to this day.

"Tricking you? Whatwhenwherehowwhy?" Kyra's interest was fully piqued by Quistis' comment. Any interaction between these two, especially where Seifer was at the losing end, was always viewed as prime-time entertainment in her silly little world.

"That's unimportant." Quistis crossed her arms, suddenly slipping into Instructor mode again. "Young lady, why are you still here? Don't you have training to do? Are you serious about passing your SeeD exam or not?"

"Right away, Instructor." Kyra saluted Quistis and quickly exited the office.

"She looks more and more like the real thing. You can't tell them apart now except for that strange accent she speaks with." Zell commented. "Her salute is spot on."

"Well I suppose her adaptation skills are well-developed. And a healthy dose of good luck always helps." Quistis smiled faintly. "Nothing to scream about, really."

"Do you think she can really pass the SeeD exam, Quisty?" Selphie's doubt was clear in her tone. "On the first try?"

"You know Selphie, among the six of us, which one didn't pass at first try? Even Irvine and Rinny did it."

"But…"

"I'm not going to make it difficult for her, that much I can say."

"But are you allowed to do that? It might count as abuse of authority." Selphie's face was scrunched with uncertainty again.

"WHAT abuse of authority? Once she gets the title, she's gone from here, just like that." Quistis snapped her fingers in emphasis. "The sooner she goes, the better! It doesn't make any difference anyway!"

"It DOES! The creditability of the SeeD exam will be compromised!" Zell exclaimed, shifting at the edge of his seat but stopping short of rising.

"Please, Zell. I know you're just peeved that she'll be going back to her world soon. That you'll be saying goodbye to your little alt-world friend once she passes. I know it's hard but you'll have to accept this sooner or later! And besides… abuse of authority? I'll tell you what's abuse of authority! Accepting that girl without consulting anyone else just so the Garden's finances can look healthy under his Highness' command is what I'd call _abuse of authority_!" Quistis finished bitterly, oblivious of the weird looks that her friends kept giving her.

But even if she was oblivious to their eyebrow-twitching and cheek-manipulation, the heavy presence of another one looming from behind could not be mistaken.

"Quistis, that's a bit unfair don't you think?"

She whirled around at the sound of the low monotone.

"Squall…! When did you return?"

"A few minutes ago. Now what's this I hear about the Lee girl going for SeeD exam?" Squall scrutinized her with a hard gaze, letting her know that he demanded nothing but the full explanation from her.

"Where's Rinny?"

"Don't change the subject, Quistis."

"I'm not. Where is she?"

"She's at the infirmary getting treated for information overload."

"Information overload?"

Squall's gaze flickered away for a few seconds.

"She found out about our special exchange student." Squall furrowed his brow slightly, suppressing the sigh that was pressing against his chest.

"Oh."

"So?"

"Rumour has it that once that alt-world girl passes the SeeD exam, she'll be able to return to her own world. And it seems that she is quite eager to do so."

"Fine! We'll give her a pass right away!" Squall's stony face was immediately brightened by a small twitching of his mouth that could have passed as a smile by his standards.

"We can't! The other students would get suspicious!" Zell protested again. He couldn't help feeling that tiny bit disheartened. No one shared his opinion. This was wrong, all wrong. They couldn't just turn people into SeeD just to get rid of them; it was against every principle he had learnt to uphold.

"So? Does it matter if they know? She'll be gone." Squall was perplexed by Zell's concern. This was a perfect solution that not only wouldn't harm anyone; it'd make B-Garden rich; it'd appease Rinny and most of all the extra finances might possibly translate into an early "retirement" for him as the Commander. Hyne he hated this job, and if he was able to convince the Council that the Commander position was redundant in these peaceful war-less times, hey, why not pursue the option?

"See Zell, even your Commander thinks that way." Quistis put a hand on Zell's shoulder, trying to sway him towards their side.

Zell looked at the chin-rubbing Commander, at the 'so-analytical-and-so-intelligent-you-can-see-my-brains-churning' Instructor, at the gleeful Selphie and equally as gleeful Irvine. And he couldn't believe they were once on the same team that fought Sorceress Ulti and saved the world together. Now they were nothing but complacent and selfish people to him. Not to mention racist.

"Too much! You people are too much!" He punched Quistis' wall, and strode furiously out of the office like a certain trench-coat-swishing, gun-blade-toting man before him.

"What is it with people! Why do they always have to try and demolish my office!" Quistis grumbled, frowning when she noticed a smudge on her otherwise perfectly white wall. Without another word she took up a rag and started wiping at it.

"What's up with him?" Squall looked round at his friends in confusion.

----------------------------

_Squall! How could he do this to me! _Rinoa bit into her pillow, but was too subdued by sedatives to move away from the bed.

It was unbelievable. Squall acted like a different man. She had never seen him this assertive over anything, not even the time she tried to redecorate his room to a less utilitarian theme and pastel-ised it, he didn't dare to object although she could see him silently struggling against the change. But this time, his objection was clear, and strangely coherent, wordy even.

_"Rinny, I know you don't like these girls from the other galaxy, and neither do I but this time, it's not just about you. It's about Balamb Garden, and most importantly, it's about me. It's time YOU listen to what I want for once! I always give in to you, and I'm not complaining! All I'm asking, is for you to indulge me on this. Okay? Is that hard for you to do?_

_And you know what? If this sounds familiar, it's because you use the same thing on me time after time after time. I'm sick of it. Now I'm letting you have a taste of your own medicine."_

Rinoa fumed. How _dare_ he use that kind of tone with her? The more she thought about it, the more incensed she became, but then in some peculiar way it seemed rather funny to her, only she refused to let it influence her. She knew why Squall was so insistent on it from the moment she heard about the one billion gil.

_I suppose… if I carry on being angry at him I'd be what they like to say spoilt and unreasonable. But I'm not letting him off so lightly! He might get used to… _

A female voice broke into Rinoa's thoughts - a voice she did not recognise. But from the ring of familiarity it had while the owner spoke with Dr. Kadowaki, Rinoa could guess that this girl probably was a frequent visitor to the infirmary.

"Hey, Dr. Kadowaki! I need some bandages for my joints and muscles."

"You again? What is it this time?"

"Nothing, I just need to do some protection to my joints and muscles. I learnt to do this when I was a volleyball player last time."

"Silly girl. You shouldn't over-stress your body. I'm sick and tired of seeing Zell carrying you in here." The doctor gave a good-natured laugh. "But maybe you wouldn't mind it all that much."

"Doctor! That was purely by coincidence!" The girl protested, her eyes widened as far as biologically possible. She tried to conceal the flustered state of mind the good doctor's statement had caused, but failed miserably as a faint blush started creeping and spreading on her cheeks, much to the amusement of Doctor Kadowaki.

Rinoa narrowed her eyes upon the newcomer, remaining hidden from their view behind the curtain that separated the sick bay from the examination area.

_New voice. And my women's intuition tells me this would most probably be the new girl Squall was talking about!_

Rinoa was livid when Squall finally told her about him admitting another one of the "Mary and Sue" species into Balamb Garden. The act itself did not anger her so much as Squall trying to deceive her did.

But after the relatively calming properties of the sedatives, she had eventually calmed down and analyzed things a little more objectively. The fact that this new girl's favourite wasn't Squall helped a lot, of course.

"Haha! I heard that!" She quipped, putting on the friendly, chirpy, conversational tone that she was so adept in, while interrupting Kyra and Dr. Kadowaki's exchange without them feeling the slightest bit annoyed. It was one of her most frequently practiced skills, so much that it had virtually been ingrained into the subconscious mind.

Kyra froze, a deer-in-the-headlights look plastered across her face.

"Hello! I'm Rinoa. And you are?" Rinoa extended a hand across to Kyra, smiling sweetly at the same time while she secretly took note of Kyra's reaction.

"K…K..Kyra." Kyra stammered, taking Rinoa's hand tentatively and shaking it. _MyGodMygodmygodsheheardus!She. Heard. Us! What if she tells Zell wouldsheshewouldn't I think…I'm babbling I should stop. _"N…ice to meet you, Rinoa."

"Nice to meet you too, Kyra. Now I'll have something to remember you by – the girl who keeps getting carried into the doctor's office by Zell." Rinoa dropped her hand, grinning back at Kyra – a grin that looked nothing short of evil to Kyra. "Oh my, it is a long label though, isn't it?"

Kyra blanched, squeezing a nervous smile on her face.

"Uhmm… like I was saying Dr. K, I gotta wrap my muscles. See ya." She bolted as fast as her legs could carry, ignoring the roll of bandage she had dropped on her way out.

"I don't see what's the hurry, can you, Doctor Kadowaki?" Rinoa asked with clearly-faked confusion.

"Rinoa…" Doctor Kadowaki shook her head, smiling wryly at her. " Kyra's exceptionally sensitive as far as Zell is concerned. Everyone except Zell himself can see it. And let's put it this way, maybe Zell does see it, but he's definitely turning a blind eye, just like the way he cares for her but isn't exactly keen on admitting it. Ah that's just the general assumption around here though, not proven fact."

"Oh should you be telling me this then?"

"Even if I didn't tell you, I'm sure you could've seen it for yourself." Doctor Kadowaki went to her desk, her head bent low as she made a few marks on the report that had been placed neatly in her in-tray. "It isn't exactly a well-hidden secret."

"Hmmm. I'll bet my bottom dollar that Kyra doesn't know it either."

The doctor raised her head and smiled mysteriously in reply.

"I know I know, it's for you to know and for me to find out." Rinoa sighed.

"Clever girl. Now be good, go back to your bed and rest."

"But I've already rested enough! I'm perfectly calm now, Doctor." Rinoa put on her best "don't-I-look-like-a-cute-little-poochie-woochie-so-pwease-let-me-have-whatever-I-want" look that had many a time worked wonders on Squall but of course, it doesn't always have the same effect on other people.

Doctor Kadowaki gave her a quick glance.

"Alright. I'll give you a brief checkup, then you can go. But no temper flares of any sort. I can't keep having recurring patients you understand?"

"Yesss Ma'am!"

Ten minutes later, Rinoa exited from the infirmary, her eyes staring in front of her while her mind was miles away in thought, lingering on what Doctor Kadowaki had told her earlier.

_"Rinoa, if you see Seifer or Zell later, tell them to keep an eye out for Kyra. She's my most frequent visitor for the past two weeks. Even if she really has a remarkable recovery process, all those injuries will make her old age a painful one."_

_"Seifer?" **What has the new girl gotta do with Seifer?** Rinoa stared at the doctor, her unspoken question written all over her face._

_"Didn't you know? Seifer has been her tutor for two weeks now. Strange, but true."_

_"…I see. Thanks Doctor."_

_"Don't forget what I said!"_

But by then, Rinoa could barely hear anything but the grinding of the wheels in her brain.

_Hmmm… what else has Squall hidden from me?_

She bit her lip, the rims of her eyes reddening a little as she pressed the elevator button that lead right up to Squall's office.

_Am I… so difficult to trust? _She blinked, her lip shuddering as she walked out of the elevator towards the office door, and went in without so much as knocking.

"Rinoa… what—"

"Squall! What else have you been keeping from me?" She exclaimed in a teary tone.

_What now? And shouldn't she be under sedation? What does it takes to have your instructions followed around here!_

"What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you tell me Seifer is Kyra's tutor?" She let out a scandalized gasp. "Squall, don't tell me you're still having doubts? I _told_ you, it's over between him and me—"

Squall let out a frustrated grunt, at the same time amazed at how rampant her imagination was.

"It was all Quisty's doing, why don't you ask her instead?"

"But I want to hear it straight from you! Be honest with me Squall!"

He shot an incredulous look at Rinoa, but decided against explaining himself, or even opening his mouth to give her any kind of answer. It would just be a waste of time. No matter what kind of reasons he gave she would always find some way to question him, regardless of what he had said earlier. It was as if she hadn't heard him when he'd said that all matters regarding the Earth girl were already handed over to Quistis, he had washed his hands off it. Heck, she could even remember that—Keeva? Krya?—whoever's name better than him, but noooo that had completely escaped Rinoa's notice. But he should've known that Rinoa would conveniently forget about it. After all it was not the first time this kind of thing had happened.

Instead, he simply shook his head wearily, turning back to his work.

"Squall, I'm still waiting for your answer!"

"Because I don't _fucking_ know." He said in a low, tightly controlled voice. "As it is, my work is burying me alive. I do not have the time to bother about some Earth Girl who's nothing but a ticking time bomb." He deepened his frown and glanced up at her. "So please, if you'll leave me to finish my work!"

Rinoa nodded meekly, sensing that Squall was on the verge of a flare-up. She was treading on dangerous ground indeed, and she had no intention on endangering herself further. She would make sure he made up to her some way, but now was not the time.

Squall stared at the door after Rinoa closed it behind her, in a manner that suggested that he was trying to drill holes into it with his "laser" glance. Then he swiped the piece of paper on his desk, burying his nose into it. The word from the left and right merged in the middle as he became slightly cross-eyed in distraction.

_What gives, Rinny? You ask about Seifer and his new pupil the first thing you come in, not "Do you need help Squall?" but "Why didn't you tell me about Seifer's new pupil, Squall? Huhh?" Seifer Seifer Seifer! Why does it matter that he's her tutor so much? And if I hear one more mention of that troublemaker I'm gonna …_

"Commander, Sir, Instructor Trepe asks to see you." The secretary's voice boomed from the intercom, pulling him out of his moody stewing immediately. He blinked a few times to right his vision before replying.

"Send her in." He said, drawing his attention back to his document again.

Seconds later, the knock on the door and soft thuds of Quistis' boots on his carpeted floor announced her presence.

Squall grunted something like "take a seat" at her without looking up from his document.

"Squall, I'm here about Seifer's black marks." She said as she lowered herself into the seat in front of his desk.

"Him AGAIN!" Squall roared. Quistis yanked her butt from the seat as if it had just been zapped with electricity currents, hesitated slightly, before lowering it back down cautiously, although her eyebrows remained raised.

"Are you okay, Squall?" Quistis asked in concern. The Commander Squall did not usually show much emotion, even before his friends, even his tempers were quiet affairs. This must be something huge.

_It must be something to do with Rinny. And Seifer of course. Poor Squall, he must be feeling insecure again. _The right side of her brain told her. The left side concurred, and Quistis chewed her lip, glancing thoughtfully, expectantly at Squall.

"Fine fine. What about the trouble… Seifer this time?" Squall knitted his eyebrows together, his face gloomier than a sky impending a tornado and making clear to Quistis that his patience for Seifer was as fragile as the soapy film bubbles were made of.

"Squall you should be more tolerant of Seifer. You've been away for two weeks and the first hour you come back, you're up against his case again!"

"The sooner that person gets kicked out the better!"

"Aren't we getting a little rash here? It so appears that he has done something GOOD and USEFUL for once, in your absence."

"Let me guess, he became the Earth Girl's tutor." Squall said sourly.

"How did you know?" Quistis asked, genuinely surprised.

"Rinny came in accusing me of trying to hide his NEW TITLE not ten minutes before you came in."

"Ahh, now I see what's been eating at you. Jealousy at fault?"

"I don't trust him. You never know when he's going to turn against us again and I'm sure I'm not the only one with this kind of apprehension. If we can't wholly trust our team members, how are we going to perform at optimal efficiency? And efficiency is vital to any military organization like ours! I was against his return in the first place but the Council, wanted to show that the Gardens are capable of giving a second chance to reformed war criminals. AND THEY WANTED TO USE OUR GARDEN AS GUINEA PIG! HAH!" He swiveled his chair around so that its back was facing Quistis. He didn't want her to see his worked-up face, or the resentment almost spilling over. It wasn't for anyone to know of, not even for Rinny. Especially not for Rinny. And if Quistis knew what was going through him, he would bet his ass that she would try and talk him out of it, like the counselor part she always played for the other SeeDs and Cadets. It was _his_ resentment, other people cannot take it away from him!

"Squall. He was under influence. Matron testified for him, remember?"

"Oh, so that makes everything okay?" He still refused to turn around. _Why the fuck is EVERYBODY speaking up for him?_

"You're just afraid of losing Rinny to him, but that'll never happen, you know that. Lose that prejudice against him Squall. It's no good to hang on to old grudges. It'll only become a burden in the end, nothing more." Quistis smiled a bit sadly at the back of his chair, even though she knew he could not see. A fleeting memory of what _she_ used to hang on to had drawn a curtain in front of her mind, but she waved it away quickly.

"Quisty, you are my friend." Squall turned around in his chair, his pupils hardening to an icy-hue. "But that doesn't mean that I appreciate you trying to meddle into my personal affairs. I don't care what the hell you assume about me, or Rinny, but stay out of it!"

"Squall! Do you know what you're saying!" Quistis was appalled, not to mention having that sick feeling of Déjà vu washing over her. She remembered feeling exactly this same way before, wounded.

Or worse, rejected.

She opened her mouth, then shut it again. Nothing seemed willing to come out of her mouth and yet something she _didn't_ want coming out kept pressing against the rims of her eyes. So she simply stood there, blinking rapidly at the wood grain of Squall's desk for she dared not meet his eyes.

Squall's demeanor softened a little, as he realized what he had said wasn't exactly the most appropriate thing. The breathing space between them seemed positively clogged with awkwardness so thick, that if it were tangible it would have required a butcher knife to slice through.

Then he feigned a cough.

"I… I'm sorry. I was stressed by the pile-up of work and Rinny kept hounding me…"

"You're right Squall. It's none of my business. I should have learnt my lesson the first time round." She smirked humorlessly. This was Squall, he wouldn't make a hundred and eighty degree change just because he had opened up slightly. Privacy was still highly valued in his books. She was stupid to have expected him to welcome her advice and concern with wide-open arms and warm smiles. "If there's nothing else, I'll leave you to your work."

Quistis turned on her heel and strode briskly towards the door, her heels leaving temporary depressions in the carpet as they thudded towards the exit.

She was obviously in quite a hurry to get away from the office, and in fact, away from everyone and everything else. She walked without really looking at the path in front of her, even though her eyes were staring straight ahead, they were glazed over as though her mind was replaying an old movie over and over again.

_"Quisty, you are my friend. But that doesn't mean that I appreciate you trying to meddle into my personal affairs. I don't care what the hell you assume about me, or Rinny, but stay out of it!"_

"Telling me to go away, huh?" She mumbled with a wan smile, rounding a corner blindly as she kept rerunning Squall's words in her mind…

….before smacking right into the middle of someone.

Someone with a very firm torso indeed.

"Whoa!" That someone exclaimed, holding onto her arms to keep her from toppling to the ground. "Watch where you're going, will you?" A pause. "Well if it isn't the _great_ Instructor Trepe."

Quistis raised her head slightly at the familiar—albeit in an annoying kind of way—voice floating above her head. She creased her brow in irritation.

_Not him! I do not need his nonsense now! _

She shouldered past him in an uncharacteristically rude and rough manner, not letting a single word escape from her tightly pursed lips.

"What, am I so detestable that you can't stand the sight of this handsome face for one second? It kinda hurts, Instructor Trepe. And I did save you from an ungraceful fall, so where's the thanks?" He grinned at her. She couldn't decide if he was trying to taunt her, or flirt with her.

_Waitaminute. Flirt? You're out of your mind Trepe._

"No I do not find you detestable Seifer. And thank you for saving me from the fall that you almost caused." She spat irritably, jerking her head up to look him in the eye. "But if you don't get out of my way, I shall soon find you so!"

"Fine! But as a good student, I feel obligated to remind you to keep your eyes on the path you're traveling on. Unless you like to bump into other people. Namely me." He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. Clearly Seifer was on a playful mood today, only at the worst possible time.

"Seifer, I don't have time to bicker with you. I apologise, alright?" She sighed wearily. She wanted to leave it as that, trying to slide past him but the guy seemed extra persistent and pestering, blocking her way again.

"Now, that wouldn't do. I can't let you run around knowing what a hazard you pose on the roads." His smirk disappeared suddenly. "I saw you walking into Leonhart's office ten minutes ago." He pronounced Leonhart like it was a species of vermin.

"So I did." Quistis shrugged. "Are you spying on me, Seifer? Trying to make sure if I fulfilled my promise to propose the striking off of your black marks? Tsk tsk how distrustful of you."

"Don't change the subject. I'm not as stupid as I act like I am." Seifer frowned at her. "I don't know what happened in there, but plainly it upsets you."

This guy… he kept stripping her defenses bare, stirring up her pot of emotions when they were already mixed up and chaotic beyond belief, pointing out everything that she kept trying to hide, even to herself. How could he? What gave him the right to get her like that!

"WHAT DO YOU CARE ABOUT WHAT UPSETS ME!" She yelled, attracting several stares from the throng of Cadets hurrying to classes. Quickly, they averted their stares when Quistis met their eyes with a forbidding glare, although they were dying to know what had ruffled the cool and calm Instructor Trepe's golden feathers. Seifer attracted just as many stares as their minds started to put two and two together, but he ignored them.

And he did always cause her to lose her perfect composure, more than anyone else, sometimes in an embarrassingly loud manner, like now. She waited for his smart-assed reply, already getting used to his patterns.

"Quistis." This was the first time he had addressed her by her name. He sort of… well he liked it. "Maybe I do care, have you ever thought of that?"

Quistis stared up at him in infinite surprise.

"Are you sure you're not running a fever?" She asked half-seriously, raising a hand to feel his forehead.

He blinked. Then the perpetually annoyed-at-everything-and-everyone scowl returned to his face, and he brushed her hand away.

"Forget I said anything." He muttered gruffly, pivoted on his heel and stalked off without a backward look.

Quistis resumed walking, not noticing that the weight that was on her mind before she had bumped into Seifer, had dissolved and was replaced by lots and lots of questions about Seifer's behaviour.

----------------------------

It was true, even if he didn't show it in any way. He could not allow himself to reveal in the slightest way that he, Seifer Almasy, did care about her, and he didn't have a clue since when. But it had already been there even before his pre-Sorceress Lapdog days. He would sit in her class, watching her every movement, listening intently to her every intonation, every pause, every sharp-eyed glance that he willed to land on him.

Of course, he was still the arrogant, egoistical boy who would never openly admit to his affections for the Mediocre Instructor. He even felt _ashamed_ of it. And he was angry, that Trepe obviously did not share such inclinations towards himself. He had given her that degrading nickname, perhaps in retaliation that she always focused her favorable attentions elsewhere… on Squall, who didn't seem to give a damn. For not noticing that just a seat away, someone else was trying to hook her attention.

_By creating problems? Not fucking likely. I just enjoy annoying her. The real Seifer Almasy is notsome useless emoting wimp. Unlike Puberty Boy. Oh, must remember to call him COMMANDER._

But he had to admit, she looked damn beautiful when she was annoyed, or flustered, because only then would she push aside the mask she always wore to face people. The perfect image. He always had smug satisfaction in being able to strip it away… well not all the time, but it was a feat considering she was almost always impeccably composed in front of other people. But there it was, the other side of her, whenever he wanted (almost!). And that, to him was his definition of beautiful. Perhaps he had told her that he did care for her, just to have a glimpse of that beauty again.

With that thought in his mind, his gait and swagger became even more exaggerated than usual.

Quistis kept on walking, not knowing where her feet led her.

_Did he just say that he "cared"?_

She shook her head, dismissing it off as another jibe at her. Perhaps he was striving to see what kind of reaction it would provoke from her, he was always trying to get under her skin! She couldn't even begin to contemplate how she would react if he meant what he said. She had had her fill of emotional roller-coaster rides for the day, thank you very much. The last thing she needed was a Seifer on her mind… wait, that was a mistake in itself. He wouldn't be on her mind. He was just a student… a problematic one that gave her headaches, that's all.

_/Just a student? Are you sure/_ Shiva's voice seemed to have a teasing tone in it, but Quistis could sense an underlying concern under the teasing.

_Yes yes yes yes yes. I'm barely sorting out my "sisterly affections" for Squall. I don't need anything else on my plate…_

_I don't want anything else. I cannot take another failed attempt at relationships beyond the platonic._

_/That's also called escapism./ _Shiva reminded her gently.

Quistis stopped walking, right in the middle of the pathway.

_So what if it is?_

_Where does it say that a self-reliant, successful, smart and attractive woman like myself HAS to be attached with someone? Am I not given a right to decide for myself?_

_I think I do._

_/Fine, have it your way. / _Shiva clamped up in chilly silence.

----------------------------

When Kyra turned up at the training stadium the next day, what she saw surprised her. A lot.

"What's with the crowd?" She asked, looking curiously at the row of faces in front of her. Lined up next to Seifer was the famous Sorceress-hunting party.

"Be extremely _honoured_, piggy Lee. The Commander and his friends have decided to give you a hand in training up for the SeeD exam."

"That's enough, Seifer." Quistis stepped forward to address Kyra.

"You are our first non-Cotta exchange student to attempt a SeeD exam. It is only natural that we want you to excel, or at the very least, gain a pass. Starting from now, each of us will train you in different areas of SeeD curriculum."

She paused, walking to the line and indicating each person as she mentioned him or her.

"Selphie will be in charge of intelligence gathering, stealth and undercover training, and some subterfuge. Irvine, ammunitions and demolitions. Rinoa, Magic. Zell, close distance combat and self-defense. Squall… will cover anything that's been missed out. And myself…. GF training. Seifer shall no longer be your tutor, but you can always approach him for extra training you deem necessary. Questions?"

"Whoa… I'm overwhelmed." Kyra stared round-eyed at them. "But aren't you guys kinda busy? Are you sure you cansimply put down your missions, just to train me, an ordinary cadet? Do you think it's worthy?"

"Good question. Bear in mind that this is ahuge sacrifice on our part, so make sure you do not let that go to waste." Quistis landed a stern glance at Kyra.

Kyra gulped.

_Great. More pressure._

"Irvine will start today. Even if your primary weapon is a ball, you need to learn how to handle a gun in case of emergencies." Quistis threw a look at Irvine, who nodded at her. She turned to the rest.

"Briefing dismissed." She said, walking away while plainlyavoiding Seifer and Squall's glances. They seemed particularly interested in catching her eye too, for very different reasons.

Irvine strode up to Kyra.

"First we will visit the ammunitions room."

Kyra nodded numbly, still in mild shock.

"I understand that Seifer has taught you the basics in gun-cleaning and assembly."

"Yes."

"I'll need to test your speed before I decide what to train you in first."

"Alright."

Silence.

"So… you must be pretty glad that you get the personal training, especially from Zell?" Irvine teased her. Even if he didn't really like alien girls, he still retained some of his old flirty mannerisms. Of course it would've been a different case if Kyra looked like a dog, but she didn't.

"Not really." Kyra shrugged, trying hard to keep up with his long strides.

"Not really?" He sounded puzzled.

"You have no idea what kind of pressureI'm under! Just because I'm not from this world! That's the worst kind of discrimination I've ever come across. " Kyra glared up at him in resentment. "Do you really think I'llbe jumping for joy?"

Shestopped beside him when they reached a door labeled "Ammunitions". They entered, and Irvine indicated a table while pulling a rifle from one of the racks.

"But I recall when you first came, you tried tricking your way into personal lessons with Zell." He said, putting the rifle on the table and nodding at it.

"T…that was different. I had no idea I would be sitting for the SeeD exam for cryin' out loud!" She paused, her glare beginning to feature tinges of suspicion.

"Why this sudden interest in training me? Weren't you guys like, avoiding me, or something? I can understand if it's just Qui… I mean Instructor Trepe but even the Commander 'I-don't-give-a-damn-about-other-people's-business' Squall Leonhart and his Princess of Forest Owls girlfriend? I think that some explanation is in order." She crossed her arms at the chest, waiting for his reply.

"It's classified." Irvine said,suppressing a chuckle at her Squall label while fishing out a stopwatch out of his pocket. "Alright, show me your dismantling and reassembling skillzors." He said with a grin, pressing on the stopwatch button without warning. With a surprised yelp, Kyra began to dismantle the rifle with precise, rapid movements.

"Even if you don't tell me, I'll wheedle it outof Zell!" She said, while still keeping her hands busy.

"What makes you think he'll tell you?" Irvine raised an interested eyebrow at her confidence.

"Don't worry, I'll have my own devices." She said faintly, already beginning to guess what she wanted to know, for herself. Her hands never stopped working, this time reassembling the rifle parts with ease.

"Done." She said, placing the perfectly reassembled rifle on the table for inspection. Irvine picked it up, and gave a nod of approval.

"Not bad. Next I need a test on your marksmanship."

"Dude, I've been honing my accuracy for years with volleyball practice. No problem over there." She declared proudly.

"We'll see."

----------------------------

Zell's session-

"See that's where you expose yourself. When you serve your ball, you're open to attack." Zell explained, pointing at the weakness of Kyra's attacking stance.

Kyra looked at Zell hesitatingly. She wanted to confirm her suspicions about him being a blabbermouth, but she didn't know how to breach it without sounding like a paranoid hyena.

"So what do I do to minimize the exposure?" She asked with a slight sigh at her wimpy-ness.

"You need to increase your mobility in the air. That way, your enemy would be unable to aim for a hit in the short time you leap up and hit your ball. Limit your serves to a maximum often seconds. Including your limit break serves."

"That'll affect my accuracy. "

"Then work on improving your accuracy."

"Easier said than done! I took three friggin' years to come up with what I have now!"

"Hey, no complaining. I'm not asking you to start from scratch, am I? You already have a good base for your accuracy, now all you gotta do is improve it. Now see, the key to perfection is always improvement, improvement, and more improvement.You just need more practice. No, don't you start grumbling. It's for the SeeD exam, remember?"

_Exam Smexam. Why are all of them so eager to help me pass! It stinks like BalambFish!_She pouted, kicking her foot against the sand, which achieved little except raise Zell's eyebrows a little.

----------------------------

Selphie's session-

"For effectiveness of undercover activity, you need to have the art of distraction down pat. Very important. Especially when you need to 'borrow' information without the person's knowledge. Let's take a test."

_Tests again!_ Kyra groaned inwardly. This was her third test in a row. Did she mention she hated tests of any kind?

"Go to Squall's office, and borrow the first thing on his desk. If you can borrow something from someone as hawk-eyed as the Commander, you probably don't need much more training."

_What?_

"Of course, I fully expect you to return it to him without him discovering."

Kyra could onlythrow her an incredulous look.

Ten minutes later, she had made her way towards the door of the Commander's office, already devising a plan on what she had to do.

Squall's secretary's desk was unmanned that day. Kyra gave a relieved smile. She felt lucky. Maybe her plan would work after all.

----------------------------

Squall placed the document he had just typed onto his in-tray. It was the tenth amended copy, due to numerous typing errors in its predecessors.

There was a sharpknock on the door.

"Come in." He hated it when the secretary was on leave. No one to screen his calls, or filter his visitors. And he had to type his documents himself.

Kyra entered through the door and approached his desk.

"Commander." She saluted him.

_What does she want now? _He looked up blankly at her.

"Instructor Trepe sent me to get the approved claim form for expenditure on Non-Cotta exchange student." Kyra said, hoping that she sounded official enough to fool Squall.

"Is there such a thing?" Squall frowned. Kyra's heart skipped a little, but she had been prepared for this.

"I don't know, Sir. I'm only following instructions."

"Alright… hold on a minute." He rifled through his document tray, his desk, turned his back to Kyra and opened his cabinets.

The dependency on his secretary was never more eminent.

Quickly but discreetly, Kyra swiped the first document from his tray, and tucked it into the back of her shorts.

"Commander, why don't I just ask Instructor Trepe to type it out and send to you for approval?" She suggested "helpfully", barely managing to conceal a laugh at Squall rummaging through his cabinets with increasing impatience.

Squall turned around. She could tell he was really relieved from the quickness of his reaction, although his face remained impassive.

"Yes, I would appreciate that."

Kyra only nodded and saluted him, and was about to turn and walk away before she realized that the piece of paper protruding from her waistbandat the backwould look extremely suspicious.

"Anything else the matter?" Squall asked, puzzled that she had remained standing at the spot.

"Your plaque is crooked, Sir." She lied.

"Eh?" Squall turned. He hemmed and hawed, adjusting the "Sorceress-Hunter" plaque, awarded to him and his party by the Council after the Second Sorceress War. "Does it look better now?"

But only the click of his office door answered him. She had apparently left without his notice.

"Strange girl." He muttered, looking back down at his work.

----------------------------

"So… Selphie, here's the thing you wanted me to steal from the Commander's office." Kyra said, handing Squall's document to Selphie.

"Borrow, not steal." Selphie corrected her. "Didja look at it?"

"No, I have my integrity." Kyra gave a little proud smile.

"Haha, nice try. Integrity means zilch when you're doing stealthy intelligence gathering. And didn't you just bluff your way to this piece of paper? Lesse… it says…." And then she stopped.

"Says what?" Apparently betraying her "sense of integrity", Kyra _was_ rather interested in what she had stolen from Squall's office. She had gone through some heart-racing moments to get it, after all.

"Ahh, nothing of much interest." Selphie whipped the document away before Kyra could land her prying eyes on it.

"Selphie, how can you pique my curiosity, only to refuse to let me read it later?" Kyra frowned indignantly.

"I'm strengthening your sense of integrity!"

"I thought you said it means zilch when—"

"You can't take everything at face value, Kyra." Selphie shook a finger at her. "You gotta be more discerning! That's another skill you have to master, it applies to everything, not just SeeD, but your whole life!"

"Okay…"Kyra nodded.

"There's a good girl." Selphie beamed, patting her on the shoulder.

Kyra made a sudden moment for the document and snatched it from Selphie.

"Hey!"

Kyra ignoredher protest, and proceeded to read the document loudly.

"Proposed action for non-Cotta exchange Cadet." She froze. _It's about me?_

"_To: Headmaster Cid Kramer, Balamb Garden._

_Re: Cadet number 123465_

_Name: Kyra Lee_

_Date: 01.05.3201_

_Dear Sir,_

_I propose for the above-mentioned cadet to be allowed to graduate as a SeeD of minimum Rank immediately following the forthcoming exam in June, regardless of her evaluated score. Information from reliable sources indicates a possibility of said Cadet returning to Earth after attainment of SeeD qualification. It is to my belief that acceleration of her SeeD graduation and hence, her return to Earth, is of great benefit to Balamb Garden._

_Yours Faithfully,_

_Squall Leonhart_

_Commander, Balamb Garden"_

Kyra stood stock-still for a couple of seconds.

"What is this?" She mumbled, her hands shaking.

"You read it. You should get a rough picture." Selphie said softly, casting a cautious glance at Kyra's expression.

"How did HE know about my condition for return anyway? And I suppose ALL of you knew!"

"Zell kinda spilt it out…"

"No wonder! All the sudden interest in my progress!" Kyra clenched the fist holding onto the paper. "And to think I was almost happy for a while, at all the concern showered at me. HAHAHA."

"But we really want you to pass—"

"All this in hope of me going back to Earth earlier!" Kyra spat back. "_Why_for eff's sakesis my being in your Garden such a bother to you? I've done nothing to warrant this kind of treatment! All because I'm from the same world as Mary and Sue? How unfair can you be?" She ranted at Selphie, ignoring the cringes the other girl was giving while trying to avoid getting hit by her agitated spittle.

"We know you're not like them—"

"You certainly don't act like you know." Kyra stated coldly, and started walking away.

"Where are you going?"

"Returning what I 'borrowed' from the Commander, Miss Tilmitt."

"But his office is the other way…" Selphie called after her, but Kyra was already out of earshot.

----------------------------

Quistislifted herglanceat Kyra, peering over the top of her glasses at her student, as her hand paused in its marking of some homework.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be training under Selphie?"

"Commander Leonhart needs the claim for Non-Cotta exchange student expenses."

"What claim? I've never heard of that." Quistis frowned.

"The form for reimbursement of expenses incurred on my account." Kyra intoned flatly.

"Did he specify which form to use?"

"No. He said you just need to type a list of expenses to be claimed, but endorsed by your signature."

"Oh yes. I have one such list here… but I'm too busy to run over to his office right now."

_And too embarrassed? _Shiva laughed coldly.

"I can always pass it to him." Kyra volunteered with a stiff smile.

"Good. Thank you." Quistis took out a piece of paper from her tray and handed it to Kyra, who took it while staring at Quistis.

"Why…" She began, but thought the better of it. "Nothing."

Quistis could tell it wasn't "nothing", but was not inclined to ask about it.

"Your lesson with me starts in the afternoon, straight after lunch."

"Yes Instructor Trepe." Kyra said in monotone, and gave her a perfect salute.

----------------------------

In less than ten minutes,Kyra had walked out of the Commander's office, minus two pieces of paper, one with a lot of creases on it. Apparently her walking speed accelerated when she was in an agitated state.

She approached Selphie witha face that looked like it was cut out of concrete.

"Task accomplished. What next, Miss Tilmitt?"

"Kyra, don't call me Miss Tilmitt. It's _weird_!" Selphie reached forward and tried to squeeze her shoulder. "It's not that we hate you, but imagine if an alien were to visit_your_ world, you'd be uncomfortable, right? Right. You wouldn't want it to get too comfortable lest it decides to dominate your world. No, I'm not saying you're that kind of alien, or even an alien at all…bad metaphor, but…"

Kyra put a hand out to stop Selphie from speaking.

"Okay, I understand what you're saying." _God knows how long she'd rattle on if she weren't stopped!_ "But that doesn't mean I like it. To me, it's just racism, only on a different level."

She glanced at her watch.

"I'd better get going for Mr. Dintch's class."

_MR DINTCH? Boy she must be pissed. _Selphie could not imagine what kind of "special treament" Zell would be receiving._Good luck, old buddy._

----------------------------

"I'm here, Mr. Dintch."

Zell did a double take. "Mr. Dintch? Are yousick or something? Nobody calls me Mr. Dintch except for the janitor."

"I'm perfectly fine." She said calmly, although her insides were positively stewing.

"You sure?"

"I have a question. Why are there two sessions with you in a day?"

"I wasn't the one who did the scheduling, hehehe." Zell scratched at his neck. "Maybe they wanted to make sure your defenses are exceptionally high?"

"Perhaps you may be right, Mr. Dintch."

"Will you stop calling me that? It sounds as if we're strangers." He grinned at her, expecting her to smile and tell him it was a joke, but instead, she merely glared back at him.

"Did I do something wrong?"

Seriously, the vibes Kyra gave off would have sent any 'impending-storm detector' going into spin overdrive (if any were invented, that is). He might be a little dense sometimes, but not _this _dense not to catch up on that.

"NO." She emphasized with a tone that screamed that she meant exactly the opposite.

"If you don't wanna say, I won't force you to."

"Groovy."

"What kind of attitude is this?" Zell exclaimed in mock anger. "People are trying to be concerned about you."

"None needed, Mr. Dintch." Kyra said, finding it extremely hard to keep her voice level anymore. Her voice was starting to shake, _she_ was starting to shake and most dangerously her tear glands were threatening to do overtime any moment now.

"Fine! If you want to treat concern like dog shit, have it your way." Zell scolded her, hoping to induce some kind of reaction.

"Appreciate your understanding, Sir."

Zell sighed. He didn't understand how girls think, at all.

"This lesson, I'm gonna teach you how to hit an opponent IN CASE you can't use your ball."

"I know. Hit the enemy where it'd hurt most."

"Right. You know the theory part. How about actually—OOF!" He doubled over, clutching at his groin area as Kyra had landed a speeding, flying kick where it mattered. "That was cheap." He clenched his teeth, trying not to lose his composure. But flashes of white kept blinding him and his neck seemed to bulge under the pulsing veins. "What the fuck were you trying to do? Kill off my family line? Is this some kind of personal grudge you hold against me?" He stopped short of showing her his third finger. If she didn't apologise and somehow make it up to him, there was hell to pay!

His last line triggered a full eruption in Kyra.

"Personal grudge? Oh yes, Zell Dintch. Let me tell you about personal grudge. Imagine the following scenario. You have a secret that you have ardently wished to be kept just that, secret. And it gets discovered by someone whom you trust, so that's alright, you're fine with it, maybe you're even glad that person knows, cos you like that person and most importantly you TRUST HIM. But what does he do with your trust? He tramples it on his feet and feeds it to the dogs by blabbering your secret to the very people that you don't want to reveal it to!" Kyra's voice had started squeaking, and she stopped, trying to control the rising temperature of her blood. "How's _that_ for personal grudge?"

_Oh, that. _Zell looked guiltily at Kyra, his pain all forgotten.

"I… I didn't do it intentionally. Sorry. It just slipped from my mouth."

"Oh! Slipped from your mouth! What a bloody good excuse it is!" She affected fake remorse. "Am I supposed to believe you now? Am I supposed to beg for your forgiveness for doubting you? Oh, I'm so _sorry_, Mr. Dintch. It was my fault for revealing something I didn't want circulating the whole Balamb Garden, to you. It was my mistake, my flaw in judging character, for entrusting you with it. I shouldn't even have talked to you then!" She looked the other way, blinking back the tears crowding upon the rims of her eyes.

"What do you want me to do then? I've already…" He stopped abruptly, for Kyra hadturnedaround to face him, and this time two lines of tears trailed down from her eyes.

"Even you can't wait to get rid of me." She whispered, as if speaking any louder was painful.

He felt bad.

"That's not true." He protested quietly.

"Isn't it? If it's not true you would've been careful about shooting your mouth off. That's just it. You don't care." She wiped at her face savagely.

"Look, don't you think you're over-reacting a little? It's not as if it's a big deal."

"Over-reactive! Next you'd be calling me hysterical!"

"I…"

"You! You what? Don't say anything else! You're making things worse!" She started to walk off.

"Wait! What about the lesson?" He called after her. She didn't even stop to look at him.

"Who's the jerk who sold me out!" He muttered angrily.

----------------------------

"What are you talking about? None of us told her anything, much less sell you out!"

"Eh, Quisty… that's not exactly right." Selphie spoke timidly.

"What do you mean, Sefie?" Quistis turned to look sharply at her.

"Well…" Selphie gulped. This wasn't easy at all. "It's a long story."

"Make it short."

"On her first lesson, I dared Kyra to 'borrow' the first thing on Squall's tray…" Selphie stuck out a tongue, knowing that she would get disapproval for sure.

"You WHAT?" Squall stared at her incredulously. "There's lots of classified stuff in my office! How can youtell her to do that?"

"I thought she wouldn't have the guts to do it." Selphie mumbled, looking at the ground in remorse.

"She was never short on guts." Zell interjected gruffly.

"And so that piece of paper happened to be the letter Squall wrote to Headmaster Cid about… requesting for Kyra to be promoted to Seed on the account that such an action would expedite her return."

"No wonder the letter seemed crumpled. I had to re-type it." Squall frowned in memory of the excess work he had to do.

"So she put two and two together and…" Selphie looked at Zell who groaned and clutched at his hair.

"AND now she thinks we're a bunch of cheating, lying bastards!" He said angrily. "And the whole lot of the blame has been shifted to ME! Don't you think that's a little unfair?"

"Does it matter? She'll be gone soon anyway." Squall sniffed dismissively. He didn't see the point for this meeting at all.

"I don't want her to leave regretting she came. It's not right. And let's face it. The behaviour all of you display towards her is appalling. APALLING!" Zell's face waspositively scrunched withhis displeasureat them.

"As top SeeDs of Balamb Garden, or the entire of Cotta for the matter, we should be setting examples for others by welcoming our visitors cordially, instead you spite her like little children! What's wrong with you guys? For once, we get a normal person from Earth to join us, but what do we do? We chase her back! For the life of me, I can't understand that." He stoodwith his arms crossedin front of them, still continuing with his speech despite the bored looks emerging on their faces. "They say people are afraid of something cos it's unknown. Are you guys afraid of her then? Pathetic."

"Zell, is that the way to talk to us? We're your closest friends, but you turn against us and hurl insults as if it doesn't matter." Rinoa, finally speaking up after a spell of silence, during which she had been trying to catch up with what exactly had happened. It sucked to be the last to know about everything, and it brought out her Princess tendencies. "All because of one Kyra. If that's not disruptive I don't know what is."

Quistis place a hand on Rinoa's arm to keep her from continuing.

"Alright. So what do you want us to do now? The letter can't be unread." Quistis, an experienced voice of reason in their group, knew that in order to placate Zell they would have to listen to his request. Whether or not they were willing to do it was another matter entirely, but it wouldn't hurt to hear what he had to say.

"How about apologizing for a start?"

"Now way! We did nothing wrong!" Selphie and Irvine exclaimed together.

"Okay, maybe I'm asking for too much. How about training her for the sake of really training her, instead of just to ensure she passes the SeeD Exam?"

"Is there a difference?" Irvine smiled wryly at Zell.

"Definitely. At the very least, she'd be able to see that your attitudes have changed. And hopefully, her anger will diminish cos if she holds it against us, maybe she might deliberately do badly to spite us. You can never know."

"Alright, you have our word Zell." Quistis spoke up on their behalf, fixing a mean eye on Irvine who looked like he was about to protest.

"Spoken like the true Instructor." Zell said, finally gracing them with his sunny grin.

----------------------------

"What are you doing here, loafing around? Aren't you supposed to be training under one of those _famous SeeDs_?"

She recognized the voice, especially towards the end where a sarcastic tone was adopted with the words "famous SeeDs".

"They're nothing but liars." She sulked, glancing up suspiciously at him. "Were _you_ a part of their scam?"

"What scam?"

"Do you have any idea why they're so…_enthusiastic_ about training me?"

"Break some record I suppose? You are, after all, '_the first non-Cotta student on a SeeD exam'_" He smirked, the last words positively dripping with scorn.

"Wow. This is a surprise. Books really can't be judged by their covers. The seemingly bad guy rebel type is actually the one you can believe in the most." Kyra let out a little mocking laugh, mocking at herself again for her erroneous character judgments.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Seifer glared down at her fiercely, making no head or tail of her comments.

"None of your concern."

"So what are you sitting on your BUM for? Chop chop, on to your next trainer!"

"They're having an emergency meeting." She sneered, kicking an offending stone in her way. "Maybe to plot my speedy exit from this world."

"That's no excuse for loafing. Get up. Do twenty minutes of horse stance!" If he had heard that last line about speedy exits, he made no indication at all.

"I hate the horse stance." Kyra pouted, sticking out a tongue at Seifer.

"You have problems? THIRTY MINUTES!"

"Aye Aye Sir! Sorry Sir!" She jumped up hastily and assumed the particular position of that exercise.

"How many times must I tell you? NINETY DEGREES BEND, BACK STRAIGHT, FISTS CLENCHED!" He roared, jabbing into her back to emphasize his point.

_Plotting her speedy exit from Cotta? I knew there was something fishy going on!_

"No slacking! Or I'll increase your weight burden!"

_Guess I'll have to make some "enquiries" of my own then._

----------------------------

"Kyra Lee. You will look at me while I address you."

"Yes Commander Leonhart." She looked at him reluctantly. Quite frankly, she didn't want to train with any of them famous SeeDs. She would always be reminded of how eager they were to send her back, and that was unpleasant as hell.

"I know this is a boring lesson. But you're not making it any easier." He told her sternly.

"If you think it's such a bother, then don't teach!"

"Why are you being so objectionable!"

"OBJECTIONABLE! I suppose you think I should be all warm smiles and eager-to-learn, and bow at your feet in gratitude and all that! Well I'm sorry, I'm not as good in acting as _some_ people I know!" She looked balefully at Squall, implying that he was part of that some people. "Let me tell you, don't give me that crap about all this training being for me. It's not. I can see you people's fakeness a mile away!"

She smirked.

"If I'm such a headache, then you can jolly well expel me." She taunted, knowing fully well he would never expel her.

"Who said anything about a headache?" Squall said expressionlessly. _More like a brain tumour._

"Hello, don't treat me like a five-year-old. Even kids know that the so-called 'grown-ups' don't always say everything they imply."

"Does it matter why we're training you? The goal is the same! So that you can.pass.the.SeeD.exam! End of story!"

"The hell it matters! Why should I willingly accept this kind of Tai Chi? Pushing me from one planet to the other! It wasn't even my conscious choice to come here! And then I find out I'm being made scapegoat just because my predecessors were idiots who behaved like monsters in the guise of kids! Is that fair?"

"Who said life was fair?" Squall grunted.

"Damn right on that! How can it be fair if guileless girls are sucked into a world where her life is endangered every minute, people treat her like outcasts and she can't even go back unless she passes some exam normal cadets take YEARS to get ready for!"

"That's why we're making it easier for you!"

"Bullshi…. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" She let out a loud scream. And stared at her arm.

"What is the matter now?" Squall glanced over at her disinterestedly.

She held up her arm, her face turning to an unhealthy white.

There was a slight twitch in his left eyebrow as he stared at the unusual specimen of an arm.

He could _see_ the background through the blurry outline ofit, where there should have been skin, bone and flesh instead.

Kyra's arm... had turned transparent.

----------------------------

Author's note: Yeah. I finally finished the chapter+huuuuuge sigh of relief+

The chapter has ended on a rather abrupt note.The transparent armwill be explained in the next chapter, which I hope will be rapid in its coming. Kyra's SeeD exam shall begin in the next chapter too XD Stick around and see what she got. Would it be harder than Squall's? You'll just have to find out the next time.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 - Kyra's Predicament**

Kyra and Squall could not stop staring at her transparent arm, especially Kyra. She kept trying to convince herself that she was just dreaming; that this was just a horrible nightmare caused by pre-Exam jitters. But no matter how hard she blinked or willed herself to wake up, she was still standing there holding her arm up and staring at it as if it didn't belong to her.

At the same time, the Commander next to her had a faint expression of surprise and a slightly parted "O" formed by his lips, which indicated that his shock level was no less greater. Of course he had seen his fill of strange things, but to see through someone's arm without her drinking any magical potion or performing a spell… well that was just… not the kind of stuff you'd get to see everyday, even in a mysterious world like Cotta.

With a long swallow of breath, Kyra finally came back to her senses, but barely.

"Why…why am I fading?" She mumbled, her lips quivering tremulously. "Ramius… Ramius!" She called out as panicky tears sprung to her eyes, knowing that he was probably hovering nearby, and that he would at least have some kind of answer to this phenomenon.

Immediately, her muse appeared, albeit missing the customary smirk on his face.

"Yes, my dear."

"Wh…at is happening to me? And why is it happening? Look at this! This must be some kind of joke you're playing on me right? Tell me it's a joke, I'll forgive you!" Kyra clutched at him, shaking him roughly and strangely aggravated by the lack of expression on his face. What she wouldn't give to see his stupid smirk right now, it would mean that he was just toying with her, that this is only a temporary thing, it could be reversible; it had to be!

But then the graveness of his face and the way he creased his eyebrows at her question implied an answer that she was most unwilling to accept.

"Kyra…" Ramius paused, not knowing how to explain her predicament. He was ready to bet that she would end up screaming hysterically or fainting, judging from what he'd seen from her reactions so far. "Listen to me—"

"You!" Squall exclaimed, interrupting his explanation. "You were that….that…Hyne's messenger!"

"Yes, it was me." Ramius tried not to smirk at Squall, but hints of the smirk still crept along the edges of his mouth. However, it totally wiped out as he turned to face Kyra. He decided to dish out the facts straight to her—not that he had any other choice.

"Listen to me, Kyra. Your life will be in danger if you don't pass the SeeD Exam on this very attempt. There… has been a slight glitch in the plans. Apparently someone up there made a very huge miscalculation that's causing this grave mistake." Ramius took a long breath, letting it out slowly while attempting to keep his voice level, the ridge between his knitted eyebrows deepening with his effort. When he had first heard about this "miscalculation", he could hardly stop himself from jumping up and murdering the culprit, or at the very least give him a few scars in choice areas to teach him a lesson. Only the fact that this person was one of Hyne's favorite right hand-men stopped him.

Now, witnessing his charge turning white-face and tight-lipped in realization that she may very well die here, gazillions of light-years away from her home, was making him relive that same urge again.

"Miscalculation?" Kyra's eyebrows furrowed even deeper, demanding a more in-depth explanation from him. "Whose fault was it? And isn't there some way to rectify this?"

"I'm afraid not." Ramius shook his head mournfully. "The only way is to fulfill the conditions for returning to Earth, as soon as possible. Let me elaborate on this. When Hyne first came up with the _idea_ of bringing a third Earthling to Cotta and situate her in Garden, she wanted to experiment with letting this person stay longer than her two precedents, Mary and Sue. So she set conditions for return--that is to pass the notoriously difficult SeeD exam, with no biased assistance from the Garden personnel, which means no shortcuts whatsoever. Initially, there was no time limit set for this particular condition to be fulfilled, and there shouldn't have been any, as time was supposed to stand still, or at least trickle very slowly for this person, on Earth. BUT," He sighed, shaking his head and biting his lip as he tried to calm himself down, "due to a certain IDIOT'S mistake, the opposite has happened."

"What do you mean the opposite has happened?" Kyra clamped down on the scream threatening to tear from the back of her throat. "How much time, exactly, has passed on Earth?" She demanded, fearing the answer but wanting to know it at the same time.

There was a pregnant pause as Ramius struggled to find an easier way to break the news to her, but it was nothing but a futile effort.

"Two years." He said softly, looking away to avoid seeing her reaction.

"TWO YEARS?" She cried, stumbling backward at the same time. A foot slipped underneath her, and before she could prevent it, her butt was already connecting with the ground. She ignored the pain in her butt and leg, instead remained sitting on the ground. "How is that possible? I thought at most an hour has passed… isn't that how it works?"

"I'm sorry Kyra. Things didn't turn out as planned."

"You could've told me earlier!" Tears started streaming from her eyes again. She was at such a loss, her mind at a blank while her limbs seemed to be filled with weights that she couldn't lift, even with her magic-junctioned strength.

"I've only just learnt about this too." He said, crouching down to squeeze her shoulder, hoping that it would offer her some semblance of comfort. He looked up slightly, hoping to ask for some assistance from Squall-which was surely an impairment in his judgment-only to find that the Commander was gone.

"I don't wanna die so young! I don't wanna die on another planet! What if I don't pass, Ramius? Will I crumble to dust?" Kyra clutched at his arm, shaking it as if she was trying to pull it off his arm socket.

"Kyra… they will help you pass. So will I. You defeated a GF remember? Have faith in yourself." He drew out his arm from her grasp and patted her on the back, lifting her to her feet. "And remember this. You cannot dwell too much on your negative feelings. Or else your time on Earth passes even more rapidly. Now go… get on with your training. That should be the foremost thought and intention in your mind."

Kyra lifted her head and stared at Ramius, her eyes glazed over and almost unseeing. She opened and closed her mouth, wanting to say that she would pass, that she was confident that she could.

But she just couldn't say such words when she felt exactly the opposite.

Finally she nodded slowly, letting her feet lead her to wherever she was supposed to go.

* * *

_ Is there nothing we can do to help, Ramius?_ A voice floated into Ramius' mind as he watched Kyra leaving.

_Help her pass the exam, Lyrie._

_And if she doesn't?_

_I don't know. _Ramius closed his eyes, rubbing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. _I've never thought my charge would ever be like the others… why did it have to happen to her?_

_What others?_

_Kyra isn't the first accident to happen, Lyrie._

_Then why is Hyne doing it again?_

_She thought Kyra would be different! But she's not; she's just an ordinary girl._

_Can't something be done?_ The distress in Lyrie's voice was eminent.

Ramius only bowed his head in response.

_Don't worry Ramius. Kyra will pass. With so many supportive hands it'd be hard not to. _

The subsequent silence in Ramius' mind told him that Lyrie had returned to reside in Kyra's ball.

"One can only hope." He sighed again, for the umpteenth time that day.

* * *

"Yo… Piggy! Get your droopy ass over here! We're gonna work on your wall-scaling today!" Seifer shouted at the figure crouched on the ground, which seemed intent on drawing random circles in the sand with a finger. The circles appeared to have a kind of numbing, if not hypnotizing effect that at least took her mind off her predicament for a while.

She turned her head at Seifer's voice, but his words were merely muffled sounds to her—as if she was being cocooned in a foggy mesh that formed an invisible "Protect-cum-Shield" spell around her. She only turned back to her circle-drawing listlessly, not heeding whatever he was shouting at all. Even if she couldn't hear him clearly, she still instinctively knew he had to be shouting. He was always shouting, at her.

Seifer, extremely annoyed at being ignored, strode to where she was crouching and kicked her resoundingly at the side. She let out a cry of pain, clutching her side and staring up tearfully at him, her wretched self-pity reaching peaks rivaling that of Mount Everest.

"Didn't you hear what I said? Get up, you slothful piggy! And why are you covered from head to toe in black? Practicing Ninjitsu?"

Without a word, she rolled up the black sleeve on her right arm to show him why she had to be covered in black cloth.

"What is this!" Seifer exclaimed, grabbing her hand to take a closer look, then letting it go quickly when he had ascertained that he wasn't seeing things. The hand flopped down limply to her side, as if devoid of life.

"I have to cover all my limbs with cloth cos of this… and black is the least likely to raise questions. At most people will think I'm practicing Ninjitsu, or stealth." She explained, a little wry smile adorning the edges of her lips. "I will die if I don't pass the Exam, Seifer."

"S…so? I don't see what the problem is. You intended to pass all along, no?"

He strode forward and picked her up roughly by the arm, frowning at the ridiculous thought that it seemed much thinner than before. He waved it away, setting her onto her feet while glaring at her straight in the eyes. "This… disease of yours doesn't change anything."

"It's not a disease." Kyra matched his glare, finding some of her old fire back. "And what if I don't pass? You yourself took a few times too!"

"That's none of your fucking business!" He growled. "And you better EAT your words. YOU are my student. Famed master produces talented pupil. Don't you DARE fail on me or I'll murder you, no need for any disease to do that!"

He hesitated for a mere second, and slapped her on the back resoundingly. She almost choked on her saliva at the unexpected gesture, launching into a coughing fit in protest.

"What the hell are you doing!"

"Kicking your ass into motion? Now go, before I really _have_ to kick you on your ass this time!" He ordered, raising his leg in demonstration of his threat.

"Yes Master!"

* * *

"Are you serious, Squall?" Quistis gaped at the Commander.

"Do I look like the kind who cracks jokes?" Squall answered monotonously.

"No. Sorry but I had to ask."

"We have to double the training. Her entire training program must be revamped." Squall continued, setting his lips into a grim line.

"Why? If she dies, so be it. Tough luck, but people die all the time. SeeDs and Cadets die on missions every other day, what makes her an exception then?" Irvine knew he sounded cold-blooded, but he was just saying as it is.

"I can't believe you just said that Irv!" Zell looked like he was on the verge of explosion, or creating a crater in Irvine's face with his fist, whichever happened faster.

"I don't like the idea of an alien dying in our grounds." Squall said in reply to Irvine's question.

Quistis nodded.

"And besides we cannot be accused of not trying to salvage matters. Such an accusation would be damaging to Balamb Garden's reputation, especially since it includes Hyne's involvement. And if we can help clean up the mess that _they've_ made, I'm sure it would be beneficial to us." She raised her gaze towards Irvine, who looked away, raising his arms in defeat to her logic.

"Zell where are you going?" Selphie called out when she spotted the spiky blond leaving his seat for the door.

"I'm gonna look for her!"

"Zell you can't just run off from the meeting!"

The only answer to Quistis' exclamation was the sound of the office door whooshing shut.

* * *

When Zell arrived at the Training Stadium, she was attached to a cable and legs positioned on the replica of a building wall that Cadets frequently used for simulation of dropping down real buildings. Seifer was shouting instructions peppered with insults to her.

They behaved as if nothing had happened, except she was dressed in a very peculiar manner.

"Kyra!" Zell shouted.

Upon hearing his voice, the rope suddenly slipped from her hold. She plunged downward at hair-raising speed, only to be jerked back abruptly by the safety cable, inches away from smashing her face to a pulpy mess against the floor.

"Chicken-wuss! Don't you know it's dangerous to distract the trainee—"

Zell ignored him, rushing up to Kyra anxiously.

"Are you alright? Sorry, I should've waited until you were safely on ground."

Kyra shook her head, red-faced as she tried to inhale. Somehow her breathing patterns had been interrupted as she was bouncing up and down on the safety cable like a yo-yo.

Quickly disengaging herself from the cable with Zell's help, she pulled the mouth-guard from her mouth, making a T sign at Seifer to signal that she wanted a break.

Seifer attempted to maim her with his cutting glare.

. "Five minutes!" He barked as he walked away.

Kyra grinned at Zell. Any hard feelings she had previously held against him for blabbering her secret had been shocked away by the sudden deterioration of her body. Or perhaps she simply couldn't stay mad at him.

"What did you want to see me about?" She asked, eyeing him curiously. She could probably guess the reason he was here, from the paleness of his face, but as they always say, she just had to ask.

"I heard from Squall… are you okay?" He asked tentatively, afraid of reminding her of what she had to face, and yet he wanted to know how she was.

"For the time being yes." She replied quietly, a little amused by the uncertainty in his face.

"Let me see how bad it is." He placed his hand on one of the black sleeves.

She snatched her hand away.

"Please don't." She met his eyes with a pleading gaze. She didn't need anyone's pity, especially if it came from Zell.

"I'm not gonna hurt you!"

"That's not the problem!" She practically yelled.

She was distressed; he could definitely see that, he could not miss the vibes she was emitting even if he was blind. It further convinced him that her condition was way more serious than he had thought, more than she was willing to show.

Without another word, he reached forward and flipped her other sleeve.

He couldn't stop staring. And shaking.

"I told you not to!" Kyra cried out, mistaking his shaking for fear of her.

But he was shaking with fear _for_ her, not of her.

"Don't worry Kyra. It'll be okay, everyone will help you to pass, and this time they're really doing it for your sake!" He patted her head, looking as if he was about to burst into tears any second.

He couldn't imagine how it would feel to see himself slowly disappearing. He gazed into her eyes, trying to tell her how sorry he was that she had to go through this.

"I don't need your pity!" She shoved his hand away from her head, her words lashing out without a second's thought. She covered her mouth with a hand, ashamed. "I'm sorry. I can't think right now…. And I conveniently blamed you for my troubles."

"It's okay—"

"Please leave me alone… I'll be fine." She turned away from him, spying Seifer approaching them from the corner of her eye. "Seifer will yell at me if I rest any longer."

She pulled away from Zell, looping the cable back into the hook and climbing up to the top of the wall from the other side, which was filled with nooks, crevices and other adornments that every rock-climbing wall should have.

"Don't interfere with the training, Chicken-wuss." Seifer threw an unreadable look at him, before going round to watch Kyra climb up the wall. "Alright, try scaling down the wall again, this time under ten seconds. "

"At least let me climb up first, slave master Almasy!"

"Come on, you can do better than that! Even a crippled tortoise can out-climb that pace!"

Zell stood there watching them.

_This month ain't gonna be easy fer sure._

* * *

Indeed it wasn't.

With days "crawling" by like a movie on fast-forward, she was involved in an intense training program that had her crying inwardly for mercy, and at the same time wishing it could be prolonged, because there simply wasn't enough time. She didn't even have the energy to complain to her trainers. And even if she did, it would just fall on cotton-stuffed ears, or worse land her with even more tasks to complete.

Each and every one of them was a slave driver from Hell, even Zell, who would never have been associated with that term before. And yet the look on his face each time during his combat strategy lessons, retained not an ounce of the relaxed demeanor he had come to be famous for. No grin, no smile, just plain old schoolteacher strictness. Quistis would've been proud of him.

And Kyra would not have it otherwise. She was immensely grateful to him, for it gave her no chance at all to slack off.

The time of reckoning had finally arrived.

In less than two hours, Kyra would have to face the most important Exam of her life. And given her usual aversion to Exams, this one placed an even heavier burden on her shoulders. And it wasn't one that she could retake; it wasn't one that she had the option of failing. She couldn't stop shaking as she stood in front of her bathroom mirror, impeccably clad in the Cadet uniform that smelled of fresh starch and sunshine, her well-polished Lyrith pinned to her side. She grinned at the reflection, trying to muster some gungho confidence into herself. But the long black gloves and opaque black stockings that she wore underneath the uniform, just like any other day to cover her physical abnormalities, would have neutralized any confidence she could have squeezed out.

The transparence affecting her limbs initially had gradually spread through her body like a cancerous skin disease, and now even her face was starting to show signs of the same affliction, although it would be fairly unnoticeable unless one inspected her face in close proximity—which nobody would do so anyway. It wasn't as if she was the kind who attracted much attention to herself in the first place.

Midway through her self-pitying, the bell rang shrilly, prompting her to jerk to her senses and stride quickly to the door.

"Hey Kyra. You… all set for the exam?" Zell stood by the door, an uneasy grin gracing his features. But it was still rather powerful by even the most prudent standards. Kyra barely suppressed a groan. It was too early in the morning to be beamed alive by the resident sunray generator!

"Yeah, I guess." She forced a smile, unconsciously tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

"Are you nervous?"

"That obvious huh?"

Zell upped the ante on his beaming in reply.

"I was nervous too, on my SeeD exam."

"Hah! I remember that!" She grinned back, feeling like an idiot at the same time. And to make matters worse, Zell was reducing the distance between them, and that was setting off an entirely different set of butterflies in her stomach aside from her pre-exam shakes.

"My captain used to say if you write the kanji of 'man' on your palm and swallow it, calm would settle over your senses. Don't know how effective that is but doesn't hurt to try." She babbled. Yep, she was definitely behaving like an idiot. Who wanted to know about swallowing kanjis anyway, most certainly not Zell! He might not even know what a kanji is! "Errr yeah I better get going, we're supposed to meet at the lobby in twent—"

She never got to finish her sentence.

In one rapid movement, Zell had stepped forward and wrapped her in an embrace, not tight but still managing to induce an unprecedented and unhealthy acceleration in her heartbeat.

"Good luck. You're gonna make it; I know you will." Zell whispered, as he drew his arms around her, the patting on her back almost like an afterthought gesture.

Time seemed to be frozen then, her mind struggling to unravel itself, her lungs trying to draw in the breath that she stopped pulling in.

She merely nodded, her throat too loaded to utter a sound.

He stiffened, then slowly released her.

Apparently realizing that he had reacted irrationally.

"Take care, and good luck." He scratched the back of his head, trying to mask his awkwardness with his repeated well-wishing.

"You already said that! What, you have short term memory problems or something?" She was trying to mask something too, punching his arm playfully, and feeling more than ever the stretch on ends of her upturned lips.

_Keep the expectations down, stupid._

"Don't worry. I'll make it or die trying." She said lightly, winking as if it was a joke.

_Please, don't act like this is the last time you're gonna see me._

_But you can't really blame him. Maybe it is._

_Shut up Rubielle._

"Right, that's all I guess." Zell said, after studying Kyra for a spell. She didn't notice his scrutiny as she indulged in her reverie.

He patted her again, on the shoulder this time. A gesture that wasn't remotely close to what he really wanted to do. He wanted to tell her 'Don't you dare die on me' like a certain attitude-laden guy would but he was afraid of damaging her confidence. He wanted to hold onto her longer, just a little bit longer but he was afraid he couldn't let go.

Most of all, he was afraid of never seeing her again.

"See ya." He said softly, catching her glance as he passed her, holding it just a while longer. A sudden wave of dread washed over his mind, compelling him to do a little something more for her, yet he chose to ignore it.

That was his last glimpse of her for several days.

* * *

"Don't let your ego control you this time, Seifer."

"Concentrate on your job, Instructor."

"Worry about yourself." She smiled, and he could've sworn that there was a tiny bit of mischief in the upturn of her mouth. "I know you don't like it, but good luck."

She had stridden away quickly, but not before catching that satisfying flash of annoyance on his features.

"LEAVE YOUR GOOD LUCKS FOR PIGGY! SHE NEEDS IT!" He hollered at her retreating back.

* * *

_ YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME._

Kyra gawked at Quistis after the instructor announced the squad members of Squad A, Kyra's squad. For one thing, Seifer wasn't on the squad, something that she had counted on. But she realized now how very naïve she was to have expected such a nice thing to happen.

_"Do you expect the Great Seifer to baby-sit you on the SeeD Exam, Piggy Lee? Nobody's gonna have the time to hold your hand when the real thing comes, porky. Remember that, and make sure you do until it appears in your dreams!" _She could just imagine that kind of lecture from him.

Of all the cadets in this exam batch, the only ones she had ever talked to were him and… Kimmie.

That was the extent of how much of a low profile Kyra had kept, and not without reason. She had deliberately stayed out of the way for fear of accidentally leaking out her secrets. She remained a negligible figure except for the last few weeks, when word got around that she was being exclusively tutored by her celebrity instructors, and that didn't make her very popular at all.

Kyra had no doubts with regards to the identity of the rumour initiator.

And to add salt to her festering wounds, the culprit just happened to be on the same squad as she was.

_Talk about extremely bad luck._

She saw Kimmie shoot an extremely hostile look towards her direction. Evidently she was on the same wavelength as Kyra about being squad members.

Kimmie was, however, much better off than her. She was on rather good terms with the rest of the Squad, smiling and chatting with them as if this was a children's excursion instead of a Seed Exam. It didn't make sense to Kyra.

_Or maybe they're just trying to mask their uncertainties._

For the most part, the other Squad members ignored Kyra. It was puzzling. Although she was used to being ignored, this wasn't walking along the Garden's corridors from class to class; this was the Exam where teamwork was a crucial component!

Before she could waste anymore time chewing over it, Quistis made an announcement for them to assemble at the gates, and board the Ragnarok Silver towards the destination.

* * *

Upon arriving at the gates, Kyra tried not to gawk at the airship. The Silver Ragnarok was a sleeker, more efficient sibling of the red one. Outwardly appearing to be more compact in size and shape, it was actually capable of seating a whole squadron of SeeDs and Cadets. And in this case, it was just right for a group of SeeD exam candidates and the backup SeeDs.

Squad by squad, they were ordered to file neatly into the Airship, settling into the thirty-odd seating capacity lecture hall that they had been told to wait for the briefing and instructions about their mission.

Most of the cadets were trying not to show their nervousness, but not many succeeded. Kyra stole a peek at Seifer, who was staring at the front where Quistis was standing. She nearly gave off an audible laugh, managing to scuff it down by scrunching her face up like a prune-albeit a shaking prune. Seifer turned just in time to catch her weird expression, glaring at her as if he knew what she was snickering at—and confirming Kyra's suspicions that he was staring at Quistis on purpose.

Their little exchange was cut off when a stir traveled through the crowd, and everyone sat up to look at the entrance near the front of the lecture hall. Commander Leonhart had taken position at the podium, clearing his throat to get the Cadets' attention. Silence immediate settled in the hall as everyone waited for the austere man to speak.

"Morning Cadets. I trust you are all prepared for the upcoming mission." Squall's glance at the crowd implied that he had meant it as a statement and not a question. "At three hundred hours we received an emergency joint request from President Longstocking of Galbadia and President Loire of Esthar for assistance from Garden. Xu will present you with the details."

Squall turned and nodded briefly at Xu, who switched on the overhead projector. Two diagrams that looked suspiciously like mini-Galbadia and Esthar flashed onto the wall-screen.

"What you are seeing here are the satellite pictures taken from the global monitoring system that both Galbadia and Esthar have installed in various points within their cities. I'm sure it's common knowledge that the purpose of this system is to prevent another Sorceress War from recurring, or at least to pre-empt one. Based on historical evidence, the emergence of a corrupt Sorceress threat has a close relation to sudden increases in monsters appearing in that area due to Lunar Cry. Doctor Odine has also incorporated a machine that reads activity levels from the Crystal Pillar."

At this point, Xu paused, fishing out a laser pointer and highlighted a few areas on the diagram.

"The reds represent areas that have abnormally large amounts of monster infestation. Although there have not been any reports from Crystal Pillar denoting deviant activity, both Presidents are still adopting a cautious attitude. They want Garden to assist in investigation and of course, elimination of the monsters." Xu faced the Cadets again. "Any questions?"

"What do the three black whirls represent, Ma'am?" Kyra asked.

"There is no information regarding the black whirls, but they do not appear to have any relation to the monster activity due to the randomness of their locations. If time permits you may carry out further investigations on them, but remember, your primary focus should be on the red areas. And as always, the order to retreat takes precedence…" Xu trailed off, and there was no mistaking what she had been insinuating as her glance traveled to Seifer and rested there.

Kyra was surprised that Seifer did not explode or make some kind of retort. Apparently the importance of this Exam was the same to him as it was to her, for him to be able to wrench his tongue back with such phenomenal success.

"Squads A, C, E and G you will be dropped off at Deling City, whereupon you will be provided with transport to your various destinations—courtesy of President Longstocking. Squads B, D, F and H you will disembark at Esthar Airstation, and proceed to your assigned locations via the elevator system."

"Estimated Time of Arrival in Deling City in… ten minutes." The pilot's announcement blared from the speakers.

"Alright that marks the end of our briefing." Xu said, stepping back from the podium to allow Squall back on.

"My only advice to you is… always be ready." Squall intoned.

Kyra could not remember anything after that, as her heart suddenly decided to lose control and her knees began to knock together. She couldn't even remember how she had gotten to the airlock. Her legs seemed to have a mind of their own, which she supposed she should be grateful for.And of course the old friend of any SeeD Exam candidate, "forbidding sense of dread" came visiting at the most unwanted time, weighing on her mind like a sumo wrestler leaning on diminutive version of her. So much that it prompted her to look at _Kimmie_ and initiate conversation.

"Kimmie are you nervous too?"

The pigtailed girl looked at her in confusion, before nodding.

"Well let's forget our grievances for now and look after each other's back, okay?"

"Okay."

The whoosh of air blowing at them as the airlock opened drowned out anything that could've been said afterwards. The cadets trooped out of the airship with an air similar to that of lambs "mehhing" their way to being mutton curry and fully aware of it.

**_

* * *

_**

**_Bring her to me girl… and you shall be rewarded handsomely._**

_Yes…_

* * *

Kyra stared at the sheer numbers of monsters infesting the place. When Xu mentioned about abnormally large amounts, she hadn't been exaggerating. She would bet that a monster nest probably existed somewhere. This made Kyra question whether the two squads assigned to each mini-area was enough to cope with them, but before she could think further she was already distracted by the Tri-Faces rearing their ugly heads at her.

"Stop hurting my eyes with your disgusting appearance." She growled and unleashed Rubielle on them.

"BARBEEEQUEEEE TIMEEE!"

* * *

"DEMON CROSS!" Seifer carved the blade of Hyperion into the Marlboro's core. It was just his luck to be faced with the hideous creature straight after they had reached Tear's point. Of course there was no question that he could handle it alone, but he hated the stink clinging onto his clothes, hair and skin, which would be inevitable after killing one of these uglies.

"NO DON'T YOU DARE!" He hissed furiously at the Marlboro as it hurled a mighty belch, murky clouds of foul-smelling gasses unfurling from its revolting maw. Fortunately, Seifer was adequately protected against several status effects, coming out none the worse for wear except for the stink, but it was enough to provoke him into a slashing frenzy that left the Marlboro oozing goo from every single inch of its hide.

_Anger management issues...eh? Kyra was spot on._

_If you can't make yourself useful at least stuff that hole in your face!_

* * *

"There's too many of them!" Kyra shouted over the din of weapons bashing or clashing against monster body parts, a tinge of desperation slowly creeping in her tone.

"Well what do you propose we do then?" Ryo, the guy from Squad C hollered back at her. "They just keep coming!"

"Stop talking and start fighting! They're not gonna stop there to watch you while you chit-chat!" Kimmie interjected, striking the T-Rex with a Blizzaga spell she had drawn from it. "Grah! EAT MY ASHES!"

"But we can't keep on like this! It's never gonna end!" Kyra was ready to weep. She was panting heavily, sweat was sticking her wild hair to her forehead and she had been flinging her Lyrith non-stop for the past hour. And yet the number of monsters showed no sign of dissipating—in fact it seemed that they just kept increasing, and that was the worse kind of dampener on the battling cadets' morale. If only she could put her hands down and rest…just for a sec—

Just for that blink-and-you-will-miss loss of concentration, Kyra was about to pay a heavy price for it. The T-rex she and Kimmie had been fighting against swung its tail, a signature yet easily dodged move that Kyra would not have missed if she had been observant enough, sent her flinging deeper into the cave, away from the rest of the Cadets. Her ball was thrown from her hands in the process, rolling away to rest at Ryo's feet.

_Is that my karma for killing its aunty?_ Kyra vaguely thought, her expression quickly turning from dazed and pained to pained and alarmed. She was surrounded by hostile, stinging lines of visions emitting from the ring of predators closing in on her, looking ready to pounce on her and separate her bone from the marrow, her flesh from her skin, her scalp from her skull…

But in the midst of her frantic sweeping glances, she caught an unknown object from the corner of her eye. A red, pulsating blob of unknown substance.

_My animal instinct tells me it's crucial to my life._

As the thought finished flashing in her mind, Kyra had already directed a raging Firaga spell—similarly drawn off the T-Rex—at the blob.

A deafening explosion. Showers of ashes raining upon everyone's heads, billows of smoke clouding their vision and obscuring them from finding out what had happened. They could only squint, coughing and waving their hands as the suffocating smoke spread rapidly in the stuffy little cave.

When it cleared, there was dead silence.

The masses of monsters were gone. Not a sign of them was left… no carcasses, no scattered pieces of animal remains. It was as if they were merely illusions, chased away by an awakening mind.

All they could see, was Kyra sitting on the floor, looking as confused as they were.

* * *

The weird but very effective method of disposing of the monster threat was soon discovered by the individual groups of Cadets stationed at each mini-area that had been assigned to them, especially since all candidates were trained to be eagle-eyed. Soon they were all patrolling the area for additional things to investigate, as the order to retreat had not been issued as yet.

Hence the black whirls had become the subject of their attention, for the groups that were in close proximity of those black whirls.

Kyra's mini-area was one such area.

They were split up into pairs, as each black whirl was equivalent to the size of Deling Town. Kyra's partner was ironically, Kimmie.Kyra did not mind it so much, now that their animosity seemed to have watered down quite a bit. At least Kimmie did not look like she wanted to kill Kyra whenever they exchanged glances now.

"Kyra…come here and take a look!" Kimmie sounded rather excited, as if she had discovered a way for humans to swallow while still breathing.

"What have you found?" Kyra hurried over to her. The pigtailed cadet was crouching by the mini-watefall and peering into the space behind it.

"Just come over here and take a listen…" Kimmie moved back, allowing Kyra to creep onto the ledge she had been crouching on.

"I don't hear anythi—YAAAAAAAHHH WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?"

Kyra's glanceswung wildly, un-focusing for a bit as a pair of hands shoved her towards the waterfall. Unconsciously she swallowed a few mouthfuls of water, some of it rushing straight into her nose as she tried to compensate for her breathing suddenly becoming constricted.

She turned her head to look at Kimmie, expecting the girl to be gloating.

Except it was a blank mask, entirely devoid of any human expression.

An invisible force yanked her into the darkness within the waterfall.

Darkness, thatenshrouded her.

_I'm falling...!_

* * *

Hello my reviewers (and other readers, if any). I finally posted another chapter. Again, it took so long but this time it's for completely different reasons. I had to give my whole storyline a complete overhaul cos it looked too improbable. And…well…trying to link up the current story with what I have planned took a bit of time, so now that I've finally sorted that out, I could post chapter 12!

I'd like to thank the following kind souls:

Jack Haneck: Thanks for your comments. Yeah I know this story isn't standard fare offered by other authors with their nuts and bolts in their right places but imho when you can't win them in terms of quality, win them in terms of craziness… or something like that. At least nobody can fault my fic for a lack of imagination…some meager comfort but yeah. And I am not in the least bit setting my sights on competing with those great authors you mentioned, heavens, no! Be rest assured XD Anyway, I hope you will continue to read the fic despite it's infrequent updates, and I'm really happy that you think my writing has improved. I will strive to improve it further; any suggestions on how to improve further will be immensely welcomed!

Dark Angels: Wheee I hope I satisfied your curiousity! And that this chapter has not let you wait in vain! Thanks for your review and patronage, keep them coming!

And that's all for this instalment of "There's no such thing as Utopia, even in FF8!"! Until the next time…

ADIOS AMIGOS!


	13. Chapter 13 Lost

Chapter 13 –Lost

Quistis consulted her list of SeeD exam candidates, her perfectly shaped eyebrows arching slightly at the scores. 98 percent. It was easily the highest passing rate of SeeD exam candidates from the entirety of Garden's history. Although her students had to fight fiercer monsters than they had ever come across, they managed to face the threat and unravel it before the allotted time. And she had yet to receive any reports of attitude problems from Seifer's squad, which undoubtedly lifted a hefty weight off her mind.

_As for that other one…_ Quistis swept her gaze around, brow furrowed in thought. She hadn't seen Kyra anywhere, although all the Squads in Deling had orders to report back to the Silver Ragnarok thirty minutes ago, with the airship now well on its way back to Balamb Garden.

"Ryo." She tapped a boy from Squad C on the shoulder. "Have you seen Kyra Lee?"

"Kyra Lee…? I haven't seen her Ma'am. You might want to ask her partner Kimmie." Ryo dispensed with a salute, scurrying away nervously.

Quistis pursed her lips, scanning the area for both girls. But there was no sight of Kyra, and the Instructor prided herself on knowing the alien girl well enough. Her Loudliness would undoubtedly make her presence known either by appearance or sound especially if she had enough confidence about passing the Exam. _Maybe she's injured?_

"Kimmie!" Quistis quickly approached the pigtailed cadet as she spotted her. "Have you seen Kyra?"

Kimmie swiveled around at the sound of her name, starting to greet her Instructor warmly but stopped abruptly. The iciness in her gaze could hardly be missed at the mention of her love rival. "No, Instructor."

"When was the last time you did?" Quistis asked, keeping her suspicions hidden. The lightness in Kimmie's tone and utter lack of concern was a little too blatant.

"When we prepared to board the ship Instructor." She could've sworn there was even a hint of gloating in Kimmie's reply.

_But then again…it's no secret that she dislikes Kyra. Maybe I'm just over-reacting._

_/Huh. Dislike is a downright understatement. I'm surprised she isn't whooping with joy.\_

"Did she even get on the ship?"

"I don't know, Ma'am. I thought she'd be able to get on the ship by herself. It isn't part of my mission to baby-sit my fellow teammate." Kyra had a half-smirk on her face that dissolved immediately, almost a blink-and-miss affair for the less observant. But being an instructor meant training an all-seeing eye and it failed to escape Quistis.

The instructor opened her mouth to lecture about the importance of watching out for one's team-mate, but stopped short, knowing it'd only go in one ear and come out through the other—quite evident from the way Kimmie reacted around any mention of Kyra really. _Besides, she does state a valid point…_

"Alright, you may go." Quistis' voice presented a slight chill. She found it hard to view Kimmie in a favourable light after that messy relationship with Zell but now the dislike had solidified into a block of cement, especially since she had the gall to be smart-mouthed to her Instructor.

_Talk about a vixen showing her tail._

--

--

When the Silver Ragnarok touched down before Balamb Garden's entrance, a large group of onlookers, consisting of eager supporters, congratulatory friends and some who were just plain curious greeted the Exam Candidates.

Among them, Zell fidgeted conspicuously, attracting stares from both the onlookers and those departing from the Ragnarok. Sheepishly grinning at any of the greetings directed his way, he craned his neck for the one candidate he had been looking for. But no…there was no sign of her even when the last of the cadets had left the airship. Quistis and the backup SeeD team were the last to leave before its hatch closed up.

"Quistis!" He shouted, grabbing her by the arm as he did. Quistis stopped, preempting just what he was about to ask.

"Later, Zell. Come up to Squall's room after the announcement of results. I'm calling out for an urgent meeting." With that, she took her arm out of his grasp and made her way towards B-Garden's interior.

"But wait…where is she?"

"Zell we'll discuss it later!" Her stern demeanor was forbidding enough to quell any further questions from him. Zell knew the Quistis Signals well enough. It would be virtually impossible to move her decision, no matter how hard he tried.

Yet he knew something was definitely up. Even if most people thought his brainpower to be limited, it didn't take a genius to figure that out. And he was no tard anyway, despite popular belief. The terms "Urgent meeting" and "missing girl" usually meant bad business. And now he would have to wait to find out what exactly happened.

"Kyra, where the hell are you?" He murmured.

"In hell, obviously." A snide voice said beside him. "She deserves it, that conniving bitch!"

Zell turned towards its owner, narrowing his eyes down at Kimmie. He hadn't noticed her hovering around, or perhaps he did and subconsciously blocked her out. Whatever the case she was the last person he wanted to see now.

"If even a person like her lands in hell you'll be in the deepest bowels with no hope whatsoever of getting out!" He gave her the evil eye and quickened his pace towards the gates, clear in his intention to distance himself from her. Nothing would make him willingly stay close to her unless for a very damn good reason, and for the life of him he couldn't ever imagine such a reason existing. He was certain that before the second hand reached its full cycle on the clock his fist would be itching to hit her. And Zell Dintch didn't hit girls unless they were enemies.

"Zell!" She ran to catch up with him, grabbing his arm to slow him down. "Zell do you like her? She snatched me away from you, I knew it! You wouldn't ignore me if she didn't!"

He came to a stop suddenly, turning to face her full on. _You have to tell it to her face, as it is Zell Dintch. She's a parasite and leech all rolled into one you have to do it comeon. _

"Nobody snatched me away from you. Don't try to shift the blame _you_ were the one who destroyed what we had, or what's _left_ of it. Don't tell me you've contracted amnesia and forgotten all about it, cos I won't. Not ever." Zell glared down at her, the loathing in it as firm as his tone. Despite the quivering on the inside... oh yeah how he shook inside, it was a wonder he wasn't shaking physically too. It was so hard to look at her and not try to avert his eyes involuntarily. He didn't want to admit how much it still hurt. He'd just die if even a whisper of how he was suffering showed, especially to this girl who caused it all. He hated how vulnerable it made him, hated himself for surrendering to it. He wanted to pretend he was all over the pain, the piercing pain in his chest so sharp but still made him relive it even when he screamed at himself to stop this torture and just stop feeling.

Kimmie lowered her head, her large eyes peering up at his with a dewy film of tears. The Zell of old would've dropped everything and asked her what was wrong and told her not to cry, and everything was fine with him around but that part of him died as his tears fell by the buckets on his pillows at night. He had learnt to steel himself against her 'I-am-so-pitiful' attacks and it finally worked.

"I've already said sorry. I'll say as many times as you want. I'll do anything you want just come back to me. Please." Her voice came out choked, and she wiped at her face with a hand. "Didn't you promise me you'd love me forever no matter what?"

"But there's no forever and no 'no matter what'. Not with you" He grinned mirthlessly. "You were the one who taught me that."

He walked away. He finally could do it, without a single backward glance even though she was yelling his name and everyone was looking. This was the day that he should celebrate his steadfastness in the face of overwhelming emotions. Finally he was able to walk away without feeling like his chest was caving in and he would collapse like a flimsy card pyramid blown at by the wind in full public view. He was still hurting, yeah, but not so much that he couldn't function properly.

He was recuperating, slowly, but he was.

--

--

Waiting was never one of his strongest abilities. And this was no little wait. It took all of three hours for the result announcements and awarding of certificates to be over, due to the sheer amount of cadets who graduated onto SeeDship. And as usual, Cid Kramer took his time with the speech, often meandering into long streams of advice that nobody wanted to listen to. And this time, there was no Garden Committee to cut it short for the unfortunate, newly minted SeeDs.

"That old fart! What does he have against new SeeDs, subjecting them to such mindless torture!" Seifer declared loudly once safely outside the Headmaster's office.

"Karma for all the times you call him old fart." Squall muttered with the shadow of a smirk on his lips, brushing past the vociferous blond on the way to his own office. At least the new SeeDs had a reason for listening to Cid Kramer but he, on the other hand, had to suffer unnecessarily.

"What did you say?" Seifer glared at Squall. He had no reason to hold back his attitude anymore, now that he was a SeeD himself, Commander be damned. B-Garden couldn't kick someone out just because they spewed obscenities at the Commander for it would earn them the dubious reputation of mixing personal matters with business. Seifer smirked at himself smugly while waiting for the on-your-mark-get-set-go gunshot for his onslaught of insults at his long hated arch nemesis.

But it never came. Zell came barging at them, knocking into Seifer in his rush to get to Squall.

"Chicken-wuss watch it you cockatrice head!" Seifer yelled at him, flipping him off in open public. "Didn't you know that idiocy is contagious by contact? Stop barreling into unsuspecting victims cottage cheese-for-brains!"

Zell blocked him out completely, running straight for Squall almost tripping on a stray shoelace that had come undone in the process.

"Squall! Kyra! Missing! Meeting! Now! " He said breathlessly, unable to form a coherent sentence after a film of dust had formed on his brain from the hours of waiting.

"Piggy's missing?" Seifer's loud exclamation drew several stares from the other SeeDs. The only thing he remembered to do after boarding the ship was basking in the thought of being crowned a SeeD which he was 100 percent sure of getting. Afterwards during the award ceremony he did give a cursory glance at the rest of the SeeDs but only thought Piggy was buried among the crowd who had made it through. On hind thought that was a silly brush-off, what with her peculiar way of dressing she should've been conspicuously visible. And besides being such a piggy she would be sure to brag to him how well she did on the Exam blahblahblah with an upturned face expecting some praise from him. _**Him**__._

_Reminds me of a certain egoistical bastard I know. _Gilgamesh said with a raucous laugh.

Quistis took Seifer by the arm, ushering him towards Squall's office.

"You mean you didn't notice?" She said without missing a beat when he jolted slightly from her contact. She sighed heavily at his silence and raised eyebrows, which sure as hell indicated his cluelessness to Kyra's missing status. "Come on."

--

--

….beep….beep…

_**Kyra...**_

_What? Who are you? Why do you call me?_

_**Kyra--**__bzzzz—__**wherethehellare-**__bzzz--__**you?**_

_I'm here! Can't you hear me? Who ARE you? And speak properly there's interference…_

"Who…?" She mumbled, wincing when the dehydrated skin on her lips cracked. Her vision was blurred, but she sensed the presence of something much too bright hanging above her.

"Doctor, the patient has shown response!" Someone seemed to speak, her voice coming through to her from faraway…well it sounded far to Kyra but she had no idea of the actual physical distance.

She felt someone examining her, checking for her pulse and heartbeat and firing questions at her. But she could only stare blankly at them, not knowing where she was and why she was here.

"Don't worry Miss Lee. You'll be fine in no time!" One of the nurses smiled at her, her voice and image gradually coming into focus as Kyra adjusted painfully to her surroundings. There was something about the nurse's smile that felt off. In fact the whole place, the whole situation didn't sit quite right with her. But then again she seemed to have awakened from a terribly long slumber. Perhaps it was just the grogginess that came with it.

"Ahh here he comes!" The same nurse chirped.

"He?" Kyra asked doubtfully, looking at the man who had just entered the room. He looked familiar.

"Kyra! You're finally awake! Thank God!" The man came straight towards her bed, his face taut with anxiety. He reached for her hand and held it tightly. Kyra looked down at his hand, blinking at it dumbly. _He wasn't supposed to do that…_She thought vaguely, looking back up at him while trying to place his name and relationship with her.

"Captain?" She asked uncertainly, voice cracked from her parched throat. "Why are you here?" She glanced around searching for his girlfriend. "Is Raena here as well?"

He gave her a weird look that said "what-the-hell-are-you-talking-about" and ignored her questions, turning to speak with the doctor before facing her, all the while without letting go of her hand.

"How are you feeling now?" He sat down beside her bed, taking her hand in both of his and pressing it to his lips. Kyra stared speechlessly at him. _What the hell Captain! Why are you doing this? What if Raena comes in and sees you like that?_ But her throat was still too dry, her mind too disoriented to force more than five words from her mouth.

"Thank God!" He repeated, still keeping her hand pressed to his mouth and covering it with his spittle. "If I hadn't gone looking for you what would've happened? I can't even begin to imagine!"

"Gone looking for me…?" Kyra knitted her eyebrows together trying her hardest to remember why he would be looking for her. Hadn't they been out of contact for a long, long time? And hold on… the timeline wasn't right at all. There had to be a huge chunk of stuff happening in between her lying in the hospital and her last available memory, because it only came up to having a writer's block in her room. But that wasn't right, she knew she should be doing something else that occupied a large space in her brain, otherwise what would explain that gap? But she couldn't remember what it wa—

"Kyra, Earth to Kyra!" Captain was waving a hand in front of her, attempting to attract her attention. "Whoa, spacing off a bit there aren't you? Heh… you always liked doing that."

"Captain…" Kyra frowned again, taking her hand out from his hold with slight difficulty. Her heart skipped a little as he looked up at her with—she had to pause a bit here, she was terribly unsure if this was the way to interpret it, but if she had to swear upon it she would--hurt in his eyes. Like she had done something irresponsible and insensitive. But that couldn't be true. He didn't think of her in that kind of light. It had taken her a lot of heartache and nights soaking her pillow in tears to realize that.

"You shouldn't do that, your girlfriend would be jealous." She joked half-heartedly. It was getting easier to talk now. Maybe shock treatment has its virtues. That must be what Captain was trying to do—shock her into recovery mode. That made much more sense than to take what he was doing and saying at face value.

"Kyra…" He sighed heavily, looking at her with that same wounded puppy-dog expression. "Are you saying this to spite me? I said something wrong? Forgot some important date? I can't remember so just tell me. Don't say things to deliberately make me sad. Didn't I say to call me Colin? We're not in high school volleyball anymore…" He smiled fondly at her. "Although we did have a lot of memories. And as for girlfriend…the only girl I've wanted is you."

"Wha…?" Her heart skipped a few more beats. "Captain, maybe you're the one who needs to be hospitalized. What happened to Raena?"

"Who's Raena? Colin looked so perplexed one would've thought he had never heard of the name before.

"Captain stop playing dumb! Raena your high school sweetheart!" She raised both arms in the air, waving them about exaggeratedly as if it would help him remember. She didn't know what happened between them but completely "discarding" your girlfriend's name was definitely not normal. Not for the Captain she knew.

But Colin was visibly just as exasperated as she was. "Doctor," He turned to the white coat man who had been scribbling on the medical report at the foot of her hospital bed, seemingly unaffected by their little drama. If anything he seemed a little too engrossed in his work. Like the nurse it smacked of 'something-not-right" but Kyra still didn't know where. "Is it possible to give her a CAT scan or something? I'm not entirely sure she hasn't suffered some sort of concussion when she banged her head on the ground after fainting."

"It'll be done. Now." The doctor nodded, turning to leave the room after dispensing with instructions for the nurses.

"But I'm okay!" She protested, struggling about when the nurses tried to lift her off the bed onto the gurney but it did nothing to stop them wheeling her out of the ward.

"You'll be fine, Kyra." Colin's face appeared above her. She felt like bashing his face in. There was nothing wrong with her! If there was anything wrong it was the whole situation…but if she voiced that out it would definitely be taken the wrong way and she'd find herself lying on some psychiatrist's couch or even worse, in a mental institution.

Oh… if she had her--her what? She couldn't remember…something that's round and white—but if she had it, these people wouldn't be able to cart her about so easily!

After a whole series of blood tests, X-rays, CATs, MRIs and whatnot, the doctors officially declared her physically and mentally sound but continued to put her under observation.

"It may be due to shock, Mr. Colin. But it'll wear off over time, not to worry. I'm sure Miss Lee would recover under the care and concern of loved ones." She could overhear the doctor speaking. _Mr. Colin? That doctor has inconsistent speech patterns…why doeshecallhim Mr.Colin and callme Miss Lee?And whytheheck… amIexaminingsomebaldingdoctor'sssssssspeechpatternsssssssssssssss…whydoesmyhurtssssssssssheadddddd…_ Her jumbled thoughts buzzed through her mind clumsily, exhausted by the tests conducted on her body and brain…_..what—_

--

--

"—ever…"

"What do you mean by whatever! We have to find her!" Zell half-rose in his seat, his chair nearly falling over in his haste to object at Squall's blasé attitude. Maybe he shouldn't have been surprised, since Squall was pretty much blasé over a lot of things that weren't in his primary concerns.

Squall looked at Quistis tiredly, indicating that she should do the explanation. He didn't like saying anything that involved the word count of a mini-speech. Quistis understood the underlying 'request' in his look, taking over her unofficially appointed role of Chief Explaining Officer with the automation of a well-programmed robot.

"The SeeD exam has already exceeded its budget several times over Zell. Especially with all those extra salary payments to think about we can't afford to send out another SeeD team on something that doesn't have a guaranteed success. And we don't have the slightest idea where Kyra disappeared to." Quistis placed a hand on Zell's shoulder, which he shrugged off angrily. "Zell! Reporting back to the ship on time was part of the mission, and she failed it. There's nothing we can do."

"Isn't there some kind of CCTV on the ship? We could see if she boarded the ship and we could ask her teammates…"

"It'd take ages to check the video footage and we don't have the time. I've already asked them. Nobody knows where she went; Kimmie says she last saw Kyra when they were preparing to board the ship."

"Hmmph." Zell's face clearly showed his distrust in Kimmie's input. "Does she mean Kyra just disappeared in thin air or suddenly decided not to board the ship? What kind of bullshit is that?"

"Maybe we should interrogate her chicken-wuss." Seifer smirked, taking pleasure in grinding his dirty boot heels against Squall's desk on which his feet were propped against. Squall stared stonily at him but said nothing. Zell was too preoccupied with sulking to even notice the use of his nickname.

"You can split the work with Zell but I'm not lifting a finger to do it. Nor am I providing any additional backup for you to look for a missing Cadet. That's preferential treatment. What would happen to Garden if we had to send out a squad for every single missing candidate? But if you like to waste time in futile exercises there's nothing I can say." Squall suddenly smiled at Seifer, taking everyone by surprise—the most of all Seifer who nearly fell off his chair. But it disappeared just as quickly as it started. "Esthar and Galbadia sent new activity reports on the hotspots of increased monster activity. Seems like more have popped up over other areas." He looked hard at Zell. "Don't forget what your primary responsibility is. As a SeeD you're supposed to be doing your job first and foremost. And because of you I've had to make such a speech." His look at Zell turned accusatory.

"What do you guys think?" Zell whirled around at Selphie, Irvine and Rinoa, hoping to gather more support. But he should've known it was a hopeless case. Irvine just shrugged noncommittally while Selphie pretended to think of an answer.

"Err…maybe we should see if she turns up herself?" Rinoa offered, and was rewarded with a snort at her suggestion.

"If she was gonna turn up she would've hours ago! What if she's stranded in the wilderness? Quistis wasn't she stationed in some out-of-the-way little cave that nearly lost its place on the map? What if a Wendigo takes a fancy to her and keeps her for bouncing fun! Not to mention all those high level monsters scattered around! What if she dies? And Squall you just said the monster activity has started again? What if she's caught in the middle of it!"

"Then good luck to her." Squall said quietly.

"That's a SeeD's life Zell. That's why insurance companies never look for our business." Quistis said with a wry grin. He made a rude noise in reply.

"I want all of you to concentrate on eliminating those spawning monsters, and that includes you Zell."

"Squall!"

"Alright this is the best I can give you. I'll assign you to Deling. Do your job, eliminate those monsters and you can do whatever you want after that. But as soon as you get other orders from Garden they take priority." Squall's tone was firm, and they all knew it was the final step backwards he was willing to take.

"Fine…" Zell rubbed his hair with a hand. _At least it's better than nothing…_

"Dammit you made me talk so much again." Squall popped a lozenge into his mouth. "Meeting has adjourned."

"I…just want to ask all of you this." Zell said quietly. Everyone stopped moving to look at him. "Why am I the only one who gives a damn about what happened? Am I abnormal?"

Nobody could give him an answer.

"And you know, if Kyra wasn't from somewhere else, wasn't from Earth, would you still be the same way? For someone you've known for a month, someone whom you've put effort into coaching your best skills, wouldn't you feel bad if she disappeared? Or am I the one who's acting like an overgrown kid who's having feelings he shouldn't have? And what happened to all your theories earlier about not wanting an alien girl dying on our grounds? It no longer stands now?"

The room had turned silent, awkward.

"I guess that's too hard for you too." He snarled, moved past them out of the door.

"If there's nothing else…" Seifer started for the door right after Zell, surprisingly subdued in his attitude. He hadn't even wisecracked at Zell's questions, prompting Quistis to peer at him warily. He avoided her glance leaving the room after Zell.

"What's wrong with Zell?" Irvine shook his head, finally breaking the spell of muteness between them. "Not acting himself these days is he?"

"He's grown up, our Zell." Quistis smiled in a motherly manner. "And what he said…it actually makes sense."

"Quistis…don't start getting any ideas." Squall eyed her warningly. "The priority now is eliminating the monst—"

"Squall, how much time would it take to eliminate those monsters? The exam candidates took all of twenty minutes to figure it out. And Zell wasn't exaggerating when he said the cave was an out-of-a-place nook in the North of Galbadia Continent. You need a magnifying glass to spot it on the map."

"…" Squall knew he couldn't out-reason Quistis. Hell, he couldn't even out-reason Zell. Usually he just needed a few sharp, succinct words to force his eager and usually a little dull friend into submission but today simply wasn't his day. Or he was getting old. Or soft. Or all of the above. _What's this multiple-question time? What the heck…_"…do whatever. Just—"

"I know…we'll get the jobs done first, okay, satisfied?"

_We?_ Irvine mouthed at Selphie while pointing to himself.

"But Quisty, you told us Kimmie said she last saw Kyra when they were preparing to board the ship. So what are we searching that cave for?"

"Unless you have the patience to go through the video footage from the Silver Ragnarok—and make no mistake, I'm all for checking whether Kyra really boarded the ship—I really doubt it. I doubt she was even in the docking area in the first place, or the backup SeeD would've taken her attendance. But I checked the attendance report, and she was already missing then. I have reasonable confidence that Kimmie was lying."

"Why didn't you point that out to Zell earlier?" Selphie remembered Zell's earlier speech about Kimmie's reliability. She could just imagine the kind of satisfaction he would get being proven right.

"Selphie, Zell doesn't need to be reminded what kind of girl she is. As if that would do any good. " Quistis sighed. "He's agitated enough as it is."

"Deduct one from Kimmie's SeeD Rank. She should be punished for lying to a superior." Squall intoned glumly. Rinoa squeezed his shoulder sensing at his foul mood. The corner of his mouth twitched a little, prompting Rinoa to flash a victorious smirk of her own.

"That'd be…really scraping the bottom. She's at Rank Two already."

"Whatever. We have enough problems with Alien Girl and she complicates it. I don't like her."

"Consider it done." _This is the first time I've heard of a SeeD having her rank deducted even before her first mission. _Quistis knew it was inappropriate but she couldn't resist a small smirk.

As the rest began filing out of his office, Rinoa eyed Squall coquettishly, waiting for them to be alone before plopping in his lap, discreetly pressing the "Do not disturb" light switch at his desk.

"Rin— "

"I know you had a hard day Squall." She murmured, fluttering her eyelashes coyly. She lifted her hands to his temples, massaging them to ease his tightened nerves. He closed his eyes, drawing his arms around her waist feeling his tension slowly ebb away. The tension was soon replaced with flushed pleasure when she turned her body to face him, straddling over him like a lap dancer, her lips leaving a light, feathery trail all over his face before settling slowly on his lips. Nobody else knew how to de-stress him like Rinoa, and nobody knew how she did it for it had a tendency to happen behind closed doors.

But then again nobody knew how to _**distress**_ him like her as well.

He tilted his chair as far back as it could yield, bringing both their bodies to a steep incline with merely a lanky leg on his desk for support. She clung to him for support, flicking her tongue out to have it admitted into his warm moist mouth entangling it with his own, his hands shifting from her waist to downward, admiring her soft curves—

"Commander Leonhart, Headmaster Cid requests you to see him at his office." His secretary's voice pierced through the steaminess of his room.

"What the fuc…." Before Squall could finish cussing his chair toppled over with a loud crash, the worn-out spring giving way to the couple's rigorous actions with Mayor Dobeish-like disapproval.

"Squall you're crushing me!" Rinoa whined. Squall quickly rolled off her, trying to disentangle their limbs and failing miserably. What with Rinoa squirming and wincing it was hardly an easy job, and Squall was beyond flustered now.

"Rinny I thought you pressed the DND switch!" Squall whispered furiously at her.

"I did…" Rinoa's pained expression turned so swiftly to accusation that Squall wondered if she had acquired some face-changing ability that came at the blink of her lustrous lashes. "Squall! I told you time and again to fire that incompetent secretary of yours! Doesn't she know what DND and discretion means? And now you're pushing the blame to _me_ for not turning on the switch?"

"Commander? The Headmaster said it's really urgent." The secretary's voice floated in through the intercom again, a demanding tinge taking on the words that made Squall fear for a pulse-racing second that she was going to barge in physically. His panic escalated to flashing red danger levels.

"TELL HIM I'M HAVING AN EPILEPSY!" Squall growled into the intercom.

"Squall don't think you can pretend not to answer me this time! You better fire her or else! You can forget about ever stepping into the bedroom EVER!"

Squall stared at her blankly.

_This must be some kind of karma._

Something in him snapped.

"In case you haven't noticed, that's _my_ bedroom. But fine, if that's what you want!" He brushed past her storming out of his office leaving a trail of black feathers in his wake, his jacket quivering at its owner's pure fury and shedding its burden of overly adorned collar in protest.

The secretary looked up and opened her mouth.

"Commander the Head—"

"You're fired." He pointed at her with a stern look, sweeping out of the lobby towards the elevator and pressed the button, ignoring the stunned expression and gold-fishy movements of his secretary's lips. The elevator miraculously arrived in under a second. Squall stalked into it, glaring back at the gaping secretary as the glass doors closed, the carriage taking its fuming passenger up another floor towards Cid's office. He touched his hair unconsciously, leaving it as it was when satisfied it was not in any style that would've resembled a comb-over.

"Ah, Squall, just the man I was looking for." Cid smiled at him amicably as Squall stormed out of the elevator, seemingly oblivious to his darkened demeanor or perhaps simply ignoring it.

"What kind of urgent business was it that couldn't wait—"

"President Longstocking has requested for the presence of you, me, your matron, I mean my wife hehe as well as your dad at his daughter's 21st birthday party. All the eligible bachelors in the continent are invited as well.

"This is your important business?" Squall said in a low monotone, his eyebrow twitching uncontrollably as his blood pressure rushed upwards.

"Now now Squall. Of course it is, we need to maintain cordial unilateral relations with Galbadia, you know?"

"But what about those increased activity and blah blah that they entrusted us to investigate?"

"Tsk Tsk there's a time for work and there's a time for _socializing_. And surely the Commander doesn't have to do the dirty work himself?" Cid winked.

Squall narrowed his eyes at Cid.

"I know I know, that's a dirty word to you but if you want financial assistance and good relations from Galbadia it's what you have to bear with. Come now, Squall, haven't you assigned the investigations to Zell, Quistis and the rest? I'm sure they would do an exemplary job. There's nothing to worry about."

"Fine." He sighed. "But only for a while. I would rot in there if I stayed too long. "

"If you're so concerned about being uncomfortable at the event I'm sure you can bring Rinoa along. That'd make things easier."

"I'm going alone." Squall quickly asserted, treating the surprise on Cid's face as transparent. He didn't want to hear any more lectures about getting along with his girlfriend and giving way to her. He was sick of people sticking their meddling filthy hands into his personal affairs. It was his, and he liked it to remain that way. Besides Cid was always so fucking fond of playing shrink and the ironic thing was, he was the reason for that little tiff with Rinoa.

"Well…if you're certain." Cid said slowly, still with the raised-eyebrows look. He recognized it when Squall didn't like to be prodded and it would be wise if he didn't question him. If Squall was pushed too far he might end up not going to the event at all, and well that's just not good.

"If there's nothing else…"

"There is something else, Squall. Didn't that Earth girl you were talking about pass the test? I don't remember anyone like that receiving a certificate from me. I would've liked to meet her."

"She…did not make it back, Sir."

"Ah, that's too bad. Too bad." Cid shook his head. "I had looked forward to a chat with her before she went back to Earth."

"Zell has volunteered himself to bring her back."

"Well then, you should assist him. Give him all the help he needs. We should show our visitors the same hospitality that we would want from them if the same situation happened to us….wouldn't we?" Cid's eyes twinkled at Squall. Damn, how did he know that Squall didn't offer any help? Sometimes it seemed that Cid could access his mind like a SeeDipidia page.

"Fine…can I go now?" Squall was feeling the beginnings of a migraine poking its intrusive head into his mind. If he was forced to stay here a second more…

"Of course, unless you want to stay for tea." Cid laughed jovially, but he was the only one who laughed at the self-perceived joke.

Squall couldn't head for the elevator any sooner.

_Hyne damn it these people are all out to murder my brains._

--

--

Zell was perplexed. He was in the woods in the Northern end of Galbadia Continent. He had just finished his mission objectives on the area he was assigned to, which was cake since it was common knowledge by now the most effective way to dispel the monsters. That wasn't the perplexing part. He was now standing in the cave where Kyra's Squad had supposedly taken care of the monsters. It was empty of all life, not even the usual beasts like Caterchipillars or Wendingoes made their presence felt. Spooky. It was like the place had been nuked, and radiation killed off all life form in the aftermath. And this was no bomb site, as far as he knew.

But this wasn't the reason he had waded into the woods, in this humid and stuffy weather. With sweat clinging to every inch of his skin. He felt hot, flustered, and it was perhaps a little blessing that there was no other life except for him and there weren't any bugs making annoying noises. He was here to find some clue where the hell Kyra had vanished to. It was two friggin' days after the mission and she hadn't turned up. That was enough to make anyone concerned for her anxious to the high heavens. And he was concerned, he wouldn't deny that.

Holding a map in his hand, he ventured deeper into the cave where the waterfall was. He had read the reports from the other members of Squad A, as well as Squad C assigned to the area. They had tried to investigate the black whirls indicated on the map. All reported they did not remember seeing Kyra exiting the cave with them, with the one exception from Kimmie which was all that more convincing she was bullshitting.

By why would Kimmie lie? She didn't like Kyra, and made it clear to anyone who would look or listen. But that was no reason to make such an easily exposed lie. The more he thought about it, the more suspicious Zell became at Kimmie's motive, and another suspicion started sprouting in his head like fungi after rain.

Could it be that she was responsible for Kyra's disappeareance?

As tempting as it would be to believe that, it was still too farfetched. The penalties for harming a fellow Cadet were severe, and as little as Zell thought of Kimmie, it was still a stretch to imagine her "disposing" off someone just because of some petty jealousies. He didn't think he was worth that, unless she didn't have her mind in the right place.

He crouched down on his feet, trying to peer over the ledge without toppling his balance and falling to a certain death. He could see nothing but darkness staring back at him. Nothing that would give a clue where Kyra was. Zell sighed. He knew that he shouldn't have placed such high expectations in finding evidence here, it was just too good to be true. But for once, couldn't life be better to him and set an easy path out for him? Hell, why couldn't Kyra just be lying there, and the reason she didn't return was that she was unconscious or trying to seek out the mysteries of life by Zen-ning in the cave? Of course it didn't happen and now he had nothing to go on with.

He climbed up to the entrance of the cave, was about to leave when something hit him in the head. Hard.

"What the eff—" He turned around, clapping a hand to the back of his skull where a bump was already forming, blinking several times to clear the dancing stars in front of his eyes. Well, they didn't need the blinking. His eyes immediately widened and vision cleared when he saw what had hit him.

A familiar white ball ascended from the air and landed on his feet, circling him until it stayed still in front of him. Zell knew that ball anywhere. He had seen what kind of damage it could do to a T-Rexaur. He also knew who it belonged to.

"Kyra's ball!" He exclaimed, crouching down and holding it in his arms like a prized possession. Just when he thought all hope was lost, Hyne had given him a way out. He couldn't lose it. But it didn't seem content to stay in his arms, wedging out of his hold, landing on the ground and rolling back to the waterfall area like a dog leading its master to its newest find.

"Acts like it has a friggin' will of his own." Zell mumbled, but he was glad it did. Maybe it would lead him to Kyra. Fingers crossed and all that shit.

Instead it leapt straight down into the never-ending darkness that he had previously feared of falling into. He immediately regretted letting the ball run freely, now he had lost it, or it lost itself.

"Stupid ball." He muttered angrily. "Why did you go and jump off a cliff? You can't expect me to follow you down do you…"

"She is not stupid." A smooth masculine voice whispered into his ear, and he whipped his head around to find Ramius smirking at him. Without further explanation or comment he shoved him off the edge of the cliff, waving goodbye at him as he fell to the embrace of gravity.

_I'm dead, so fucking dead!!_

_--_

Whoa...how many years did it take me to pick this up again? I know it seemed like I wasn't gonna finish the fic, but I promised to, and it was at the back of my mind for a long time. I had a massive writer's block and many other excuses, but everything got sorted out and here I am. Hopefully there'll still be people interested in the story, but even if not, I'll still finish it for my own sake. :) That'll be one less regret on my mind when I die haha.

As always reviews are welcome and embraced


	14. Chapter 14 Missing and Amiss

Chapter 14 Missing and Amiss

Chapter 14 Missing and Amiss.

NOooooooo he didn't want to die, he was too young to die, not this way, no fucking way! If he had his way his last seconds on Cotta should be spent in bed next to an attractive face (albeit one lined with wrinkles, maybe, if he was to live to a ripe old age). Anything but this!

Oh mama! He couldn't even scream, no, more like he didn't want to open his mouth for fear that his heart would come flying out or his brains would explode with the pressure. The gravity squeezing his brains felt worse than any Gravija spell Diablos could ever conceive and he was certain even if he didn't fall to his death, his brain matter would be spewing out from his nostrils and ears from the sheer pressure of his descent. He couldn't even flail his arms so that he could grab at something but it would be useless anyhow because this place was as cold and empty as Adel's womb!

He waited for his entire life to flash before his eyes, something that those near-death-experience-people would harp about but apparently it was nothing but rumours cos he ain't seeing diddly squat! He felt cheated! If he had to die at least they should grant something cool like that, not this terrifying shit!

To their credit something did flash his mind, his Ma and Pa, the guilt that he'd neglected to visit them as often as they'd wish, his friends, why the hell weren't they here to cast some rope down and help him? And to her credit, Kyra's face too, since she'd gotten him into this predicament, was only fair that she'd be featured in the hall of fame, right?

He closed his eyes.

_Dear Hyne, please let it be swift and painless._ He waited for his end to come, quickly, why was it taking so damn long?

…_Huh?_

Was it his imagination, or was he falling in a slightly slower pace now? Or was he even falling at all? He seemed to be gradually coming to a stop but then he wasn't standing or sitting on his bum, he sure as hell wasn't smashed to a pulp on a rocky ground, so what?

Little by little, Zell opened his eyes, casting them around at the surroundings. It was still as black and empty as an evil sorceress' conscience, but he appeared to be _floating_ on mid-air.

Now if he recalled correctly, he didn't have any self-levitating powers. Unless he somehow obtained those by plummeting several feet down, but he would bet his ass that wasn't the case.

"You didn't think I'd let you fall to your death did you? Kyra would try to kill me if she knew about it." Ramius' irritating-as-ever mien floated in front of his vision. He really did play the gloating arch-angel part down pat. Maybe he wasn't even playing.

"The hell you think you're…..DOING?!" Zell flailed his arms wildly as Ramius let him drop a few levels down towards inky oblivion, trying to grasp at the muse's robes, but of course the pull of gravity was way faster than his hands could ever manage. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME? YOU STUPID F—"

"Weren't you even listening? I'm really not interested in facing Kyra in a pissed mood, not because she's any threat to me of course, but those scathing glares can be quite an annoyance." He bounced Zell up and down with flicks of his hand as if holding an invisible wand. "But that doesn't mean I can't play with you."

He turned to look at Zell, who was nearly frothing at the mouth from asphyxiation. "Oh dear, looks like you're of a less hardy constitution than I thought."

"Will you let me down this instant?" Zell gritted out through his teeth. He really didn't like this bouncing up and down thing at all. It felt like his intestines had exchanged places with his legs and he was ready to hurl any minute. Hardy constitution his ass! He'd like to see how this Ramius would fare if the same thing happened to him!

"Let's get down to business." Ramius' tone made an about-turn, all serious and business-like, waving his arm to set Zell gently down on solid ground. Zell sat down gratefully, patting on it to be a hundred and five thousand percent sure it was really ground and not some cloud or that kind of shit.

"Stop wasting time. One more second goes by and the further Kyra gets from possible rescue." Ramius scolded Zell with a Grim Reaper face.

"WASTING TIME! YOU WERE THE ONE JERKING ME AROUND—" Ramius cut Zell off with an upheld hand and grimly set mouth.

"Your aim here is to find Kyra, correct? So why are you arguing with me? If I'd known you were so immature I wouldn't have enlisted your help." He shook his head in a disapproving manner.

"Stop playing with him, Ram. You know Kyra won't like it." A soft voice intervened before Zell could explode at Ramius. Zell looked up to see a woman in floating robes and glowing light all over her body beckoning a hand at him. "Follow me."

"Who…"

"Don't bother asking." Ramius smirked. "You won't be able to process it."

"…You know, something tells me I won't like you very much."

"Touche."

"How does Kyra tolerate you!"

"Oh she takes some tolerating of her own. It's a leech and willing body situation. She being the leech of course."

"Okay now boys." The mystery lady exhaled a small sigh. She shouldn't have expected anything 'less' from them, and Ramius was his old provocative self, unchanged even after so many centuries of 'being'. She was certain he would still be the same even when he was dead and roaming the living realm as a spirit. For sure he would not be going to heaven; he didn't earn enough brownie points for that.

"This is where the old Alice jumps into the rabbit-hole thing happens. Let's hope I can connect to her. You guys can help me by calling her as well." She pushed both hands out in front of her, closing her eyes, her face tensing up as she appeared to concentrate on her task.

_Kyra…Kyra…can you hear me?_

_Kyra Lee, stop sleeping, your omnipotent muse is beckoning you._

_Kyra!! Where are you? It's Zell!! Respond if you can hear me__**!**_

Unbeknownst to the three, several pairs of glowing eyes affixed upon the sole source of light that was drawing them like moths to a flame, mouths hanging open with rabies-tainted saliva and diseased breath…

_**Bring them to me my lovelies…**_

--

--

"_Kyra…hear…e?" _

"_Kyra….muse…ou."_

"_It's –__**bleep-!!**__Resp…me!"_

There they were again. Those voices. There were three different ones this time. She could hear snatches of words, so soft that she thought they were figments of her imagination, and yet they were hecka persistent. But this was the first time she'd heard a word censored like that bleep. If she got specific about it, this censoring was right up there with those nurses and the doctor and Colin about the something-isn't-right vibe she kept getting. In the beginning she thought it was just pure exhaustion that resulted in that vibe but now she wasn't so sure.

Of course any normal person would've been alarmed with the voices-in-their-head syndrome and sought psychological or psychiatric help, but Kyra wasn't normal at all. Besides she had experience with voices in her head…she knew she had but she couldn't put a finger on how. If her mind was like that of a card list it'd be having blank pages here and there like the Triple Triad game in…where was it again that she played the game? It was beyond frustrating. She could remember Triple Triad but she couldn't remember where she came across it from! And that was but one example of the holes in her memory; they were so big she could catapult entire NASA spaceships through them!

If she could bang her head on the wall right now she would, but the clever doctor bound all her limbs to the bed so that only her head could move, although that clearly was a mistake cos she could still spit a mean one. And hell, what a logy she had aimed right in the middle of his forehead when she had the chance. But then here comes the 'X-files music here I play' moment. The doctor didn't have _any_ reaction from being spit at; he simply continued speaking as the logy slid its way down his nose leaving a disgusting and slimy trail. Kyra had to point it out, a little incredulously, to him before he proceeded to wipe it off with his sleeve. It was like he hadn't been taught any kind of common sense as far as hygiene was concerned. What about the Hippocratic Oath? Seriously if all doctors were like that all the patients in the world had something to worry about. And don't even get her started about the nurses; they were plastic robots on a constant artificial-sweetener high.

And GOOD LORD here comes one of them.

"Good day, Miss Kyra! Would you like a pill Miss Kyra? How are you feeling today Miss Kyra? Would you like me to fluff you pillow Miss Kyra? Would you like me to pull—"

"Shut the eff up! If I hear one more Miss Kyra—" It was either Miss Lee or Miss Kyra with them, but it bugged the hell out of her.

"Miss Kyra, it appears to me that you need some tranquilisers." The nurse smiled saccharinely, and proceeded to inject something into Kyra's veins and not gently too. Kyra remembered yelling out at the pain before…

…floating off…

_ahhhh peaceful sleep again….BUT I DON'T WANNA sleep stop…making me... _

--

--

Squall regretted agreeing to participate in this stupid party shit the moment he stepped into the ballroom. There were couples twirling on the dance floor to the tune of classical music, and a hundred female eyes locked onto him like a zombie dog onto fresh pumping human flesh, and a hundred more did the same when they realised that he had no female partner with him. Why did he bear that grudge against Rinoa? At least he wouldn't be subjected to this meat-appraising exercise (not on this massive scale) if she was here with him. But he had to stand his ground, or she would think that she could easily walk over him and do whatever she wanted. Which ultimately she did—he did fire his secretary after all—but he didn't want her to think he was so malleable to her whims.

He stupidly sent all of his buddies out to investigate the monster hot-spots and now he was stranded way out of his comfort zone. There was nobody familiar left except for Headmaster Cid and Matron. Matron might've brought him up, and she was still quite a stunner but there was no way in hell he was dancing with her. Awkward didn't come in a more precise manner. As for the other one—

"Squall! My boy! Why haven't you visited me for such a long time?" The President of Esthar, that fool, started loping towards him from the word go with his arms spread out, obviously aiming to capture him in a hug or glomp, both of which were as appealing as a sandwich made out of Malboro meat. With Squall's evade stats it was easily overcome when he sidestepped Laguna with an unrivalled deftness and a face carved from Adamantine.

Laguna turned to Squall with a wounded puppy look which had absolutely zero effect.

It was not that Squall wanted to snub his father in such open view, but didn't Laguna know that public displays were just the thing Squall loathed to the deepest of his little heart? Even a fool like Laguna should've caught on by now, but hell no, every time he saw his son he wanted to cause an embarrassment of himself and Squall.

And to top it all off, Laguna always treated Squall like he was still a little kid, like the way he would rub his cheek against little Ellone's. He'd taken Squall once by surprise and Squall had never really forgiven him for it.

"Where's Rinoa?" Laguna asked, turning around excitedly.

"Doing her nails." Squall said in a flat voice that denied any further comment on Rinoa's absence.

"SQUALL LEONHART?" A thin voice squealed at him, and Squall automatically turned to look curiously at whoever owned it. It was a reflex action that he wished he didn't have, getting a hint of spittle on his cheek that he ached to wipe off with his handkerchief but couldn't when his attention was completely captured by her appearance.

"THE SQUALL LEONHART?" The girl squealed again, her voice hoarse with excitement. His eyes lingered over the pimply face, thick glasses and ugly metal braces, reed thin body that stuck out at sharp angles and looked like it could murder people, suppressing all his reflexes not to twist his mouth in disgust. She seemed to mistake his morbid curiosity for attraction, beaming and moving in closer devouring his personal space. A drove of bad breath issued forth from her mouth and Squall tried to shift away imperceptibly, and his darndest not to gag. But before he could manage a single step, a squat figure moved next to the girl and placed an arm on Squall's shoulder.

"Squall, I would like to introduce my daughter, Pipi to you. Pipi, Squall. Squall, Pipi."

"President Longstocking…" Squall tried to assume a polite expression but his cheek was starting to itch and he wondered if fungus was trying to grow on it. He looked at the man's moustachioed face, beaming with pride and only now did he understand the extent of spoilt love that parents have for their offspring, especially if said offspring was their only child. How did he let his child turn out like this?

"Squall dance with meee!" Pipi clasped her hands in front of her with the most ecstatic expression her features could manage, the possibility of a rejection never crossing her mind.

"What? NO…"

"Now Squall, you're not here with Rinoa, what's wrong with a little fun?" Laguna, still as clueless as ever encouraged him with a pat on the back, oblivious to the murderous stare aimed his way. "Don't mind him, Miss Pipi. He's just shy like the way he is."

"Why don't _you_ dance with her? You're a bachelor too."

"Hahahaha Squall, you're so humorous. I'm too old for this kind of stuff."

"It is always entertaining to see the two of you bantering. Makes me wish I have a son, Laguna." President Longstocking laughed heartily, resting his hands clasped over his belly.

"Well you can still try for one." Booming laughter.

"You don't say…" Even more booming laughter.

The conversation was getting too idiotic for him to stomach. If he managed to hold his breath and inhale away from the source of contamination, and dance clumsily, the girl might dump him and he might survive.

He grabbed her arm, ignored the squeals that issued from the skin contact and started dancing like a klutz, but the girl thought it was a new dance move and started imitating him all the while enthusing about how cool he was and how lucky she was. He cursed his dumb luck. Why oh why did this have to happen to him?

--

--

Rinoa sighed and examined her nails. Squall was still angry with her; he didn't even ask her to accompany him to the ball. Heh, he hated balls, if this was a normal Squall he would beg for her presence but he didn't speak a word to her after that incident in his office. She was angry that Squall was angry with her. What? Was she wrong to tell him to fire that secretary of his? But she wasn't! He did fire her! Sometimes Squall could throw a tantrum that brought his mental capacity down to five. It was draining to deal with and right now, she was painting her nails to accumulate some semblance of Zen-ish calm but WHY THE HELL WERE THEY SO RUNNY? SHE'D HAVE TO DO THEM ALL OVER AGAIN!

She threw the brush in a heated fit at some corner of the room, not caring that it would smell like nail polish later. Squall could sniff it in and get addicted and she wouldn't be sorry. She pressed vengefully at the TV remote control and the scene of the same ball that Squall went to flickered on screen immediately. And lo and behold, there was the male pig dancing with…oh she couldn't believe her eyes! He was actually dancing with that fugly Pipi Longstocking. She didn't know what was more insulting, that he dared to dance with another girl in full view of other people and assorted media cameras, or that he had chosen, of all the worst possible candidates, Pipi Longstocking!

"That is it buster!" She muttered angrily, grabbing a bag and throwing clothes, toiletries, and Squall's credit card into it. "You dally about in public, you're gonna taste the consequences!"

She scribbled a note in highly unintelligible writing and pasted it on the bathroom mirror.

"DEAR SQUALLLIEEEE,

I AM GOING ON A WORLD TOUR AT YOUR EXPENSE, PLEASE DON'T LOOK FOR ME!

**LOVINGLY,**

Rinoa :)

--

--

The Galbadian President watched fondly as his daughter appeared to be having a great time on the dance floor. If he had to choose a son-in-law, Squall would make a good candidate. Of course there was still Sorceress Rinoa as a rival but they were on par as far as looks was concerned, and his daughter would win hands down in the brains department, right?

Oh sure, there was that little bit of bias in his comparison, but there was still room for Pipi to blossom. She would turn out to be a fine young lady, he was sure of it.

"Mr President? Someone wants to speak to you." One of his bodyguards came up and murmured into his ear.

"Didn't I give orders that I won't be seeing anyone not on the guest list today? Dismiss this person."

"But he claims to be a Hyne's messenger, and has the appropriate identification."

"Very well. Tell him I'll be with him in a few minutes." Longstocking frowned. Hyne's messenger? He doubted it was really one of those but the identification was hard to forge. What would a Hyne's messenger want with him? Excusing himself from Laguna, he followed his bodyguard to the entrance of his massive mansion.

A cloaked figure emerged from the shadows of one of the pillars.

"What business do you have with me? Are you really a Hyne's messenger?"

"What do you intend to do if I am not?"

Longstocking could see the gleam of the man's teeth, and the quirk of his mouth was sinister beyond anything he had seen. It could even rival that of Adel, and Ultimecia. A chill ran up his spine, and he tried to stem his shivering. The air was heavy, choked with an ill vibe that radiated off the man's body.

The man widened his smile, he could smell, almost taste the fear radiating off the President's cells. There was no challenge in intimidating weak men.

"G…Guard, seize him." Longstocking barely managed to bark at his bodyguard but instead of heeding his command, the guard pressed his weapon against the President's temple. He clutched his ears when a shriek, too high pitched to be endured by human eardrums pierced through the air. He looked up to see the listless body of his wife hanging in midair, her posture unnatural like a puppet with its strings pulled in opposite directions. Her face was devoid of any indication that she still had blood pumping in her veins.

"DANA!" The President shouted. "LET HER—" But he couldn't continue, his throat constricted as an invisible noose was pulled against his neck. The shrieking was incessant, it was driving him crazy. What was this man? To hold such power…

"You will do as I say. Or else even your daughter…" The hooded one said without moving his lips. It was a voice in his mind.

He nodded faintly, succumbing to sweet music of an invisible Pied Piper leading him to darkness.

--

Ahh I forgot to add individual comments to reviewers, but thanks for your encouragement! I don't want to get my butt roasted by Rubielle, thank you very much XD And I'd hate to disappoint everyone who's keen on following the story, so rest assured I will finish it. Thank you all very much. takes a bow


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